Read and learn about Cricket in Australia and the cricket players of Australia.
Great Cricket Players of Australia
The History of the Game of Cricket
The sport of cricket goes back a long way. Although official records of cricket date back to the 16th century, earlier forms of the game may have been played centuries before that. By the 18th century it was well established as a sport in England. In the 19th and 20th centuries, cricket became popular in many countries of the world, and is now one of the most popular spectator sports worldwide.
Australian Cricket
At a time when cricket was already established in the infant colony of Australia, the first official match was played in Sydney in December of 1803. From there numerous clubs were formed around Australia, matches became more frequent, and the sport became very popular.
For many years, cricket has been one of Australia’s favourite sports. Numerous Australian cricketers were celebrated. Some of our best achievers in the game include Sir Donald Bradman (1908-2001), Allan Border, Steve Waugh and Adam Gilchrist. Sir Donald Bradman, whose career spanned from 1928 to 1948, achieved an incredible Test cricket batting average of 99.4, which is still considered remarkable. He is thought of by many as the greatest batsman of all time. He scored 6,996 runs for Australia across 52 Test matches.
Glenn McGrath, a fast bowler, whose career spanned from 1993 to 2007, is considered by many to be the most consistent line and length bowler of all-time, taking 563 wickets in Test Cricket.
Some High Achieving Captains
Steve Waugh, whose career spanned from 1985 to 2004, was a middle order batsman with an impressive Test batting average of 51.06. He was an outstanding Captain of the Australian Cricket Team, with wins in 72% of the Tests he played in as Captain. Altogether, Steve Waugh scored 10927 runs in Tests.
Allan Border, whose career spanned from 1978 to 1994, was also a Middle Order batsman with impressive batting stats, having made 27131 First Class Runs with 70 tons. The outstanding number of Tests he played, catches he took, and his consistently good performance as a Captain, all helped to elevate him to legendary status in the sport.
Adam Gilchrist, a gifted wicketkeeper and batsman, captained Australia for 25 matches. His cricket career spanned from 1996 to 2008. With 17 Test hundreds and 16 One Day International hundreds, his contribution to was substantial.
(Read and learn about people who are well-known in Australia)