Road to glory: How Australia became Test champs

Nov-Dec 2021-22

Australia beat England by nine wickets in Brisbane

Mitchell Starc set the scene for what was to come by knocking over Rory Burns with the very first ball of the Ashes and Australia's World Test Championship campaign. Captain Pat Cummins also began brightly with a superb 5-38 to skittle England for 147, before a stunning counter-attacking 152 from Travis head put the hosts in front, and they were never headed from there. Nathan Lyon took his 400th Test wicket and Alex Carey debuted with eight catches to cap a strong Gabba win.

Australia beat England by 275 runs in Adelaide

Pat Cummins missed this one due to COVID-19, but Michael Neser debuted in his stead and it was a century to Marnus Labuschagne (103) that led the way for the Aussies. Spearheading the attack, Mitchell Starc took 4-37 as England were bowled out for 236, before the hosts set their Ashes rivals an unlikely 468 to win. They never looked in the hunt, as speedster Jhye Richardson's 5-42 sealed the deal in style.

Australia beat England by an inns & 146 runs in Melbourne

There was another fast-bowling debutant for Australia, this time local boy Scott Boland, who left an indelible mark on his first outing in Baggy Green. After Marcus Harris made a gutsy 76 to lay the platform for a hard-earned 82-run lead on a difficult MCG track, Boland simply obliterated England, taking the remarkable figures of 6-7 to blow the tourists away for 68. The Test was over inside three days, Australia had again retained the Ashes, and proud Indigenous man Boland had claimed the first Johnny Mullagh Medal for Player of the Match.

Australia drew with England in Sydney

Cummins' side narrowly missed going up four-nil when England held on by one wicket for a draw on the final afternoon at the SCG. It was a match highlighted by the return to the site of Usman Khawaja, who replaced an ill Travis head and promptly stroked a pair of classy hundreds (137 and 101no) in the middle order. Boland carried on his remarkable introduction to Test cricket with match figures of 7-66 from 38.1 overs.

Australia beat England by 146 runs in Hobart

A tricky pitch more akin to English conditions than Australian ones left the Aussies reeling at 3-12 on the first morning before Head stepped up with what was fast becoming his trademark counter attacking innings. The left hander's 101 and 74 from Green gave the hosts a strong base from which they were never truly threatened, despite being bowled out for 155 second time around. Chasing 271 for a consolation win, England fell apart spectacularly on the third evening day, losing 10-56 to give Australia a four-nil series triumph.

March 2022

Australia drew with Pakistan in Rawalpindi

After Pakistan knocked piled on 4d-476, Australia's top four all passed 60 on a placid batting strip to bring the tourists almost level in the first innings. When both Pakistan openers his second-innings hundreds, the match petered out to a tame draw.

Australia drew with Pakistan in Karachi

Khawaja's 160 set the tone for a mammoth 9d-556 in Australia's first innings and when Mitchell Starc led a rout of Pakistan for 148, the outcome appeared a fait accompli. Australia added another 97 in the second innings to set the hosts 506 to win in almost two days. Led by Babar Azam's remarkable 196 across 10 hours, they almost got there, the match finishing level pegging with Pakistan 7-443 at the close.

Australia beat Pakistan by 115 runs in Lahore

Again it was Khawaja top scoring for the Aussies with a fine 91before strong middle-order contributions helped them to 391. Cummins (5-56) and Starc (4-33) then produced the outstanding pace performances of the series, getting the ball to reverse swing and bowling out Pakistan for 268. Khawaja's 104no led a quick-fire second-innings effort of 3d-227 and this time around Australia were able to bowl out their hosts on the final day, with Lyon (5-83) the standout as they claimed a hard-fought 1-0 series win.

June 2022

Australia beat Sri Lanka by 10 wickets in Galle

Lyon(5-90) and Mitch Swepson (3-55) did the bulk of the damage as the Aussies hit the ground in Sri Lanka by rolling the home side for 212. Khawaja (71) and Green (77) helped put them 109 in front before Sri Lanka capitulated inside 23 overs, all out for 113, with Lyon taking four more wickets and the unlikely figure of Head claiming 4-10.

Australia lost to Sri Lanka by an inns & 139 runs in Galle

The tables were turned emphatically just a week later when, despite undreds to Labuschagne and Smith, Australia gave up a 190-run first-innings lead. It proved decisive when they fell apart in their second innings, losing 10-102 as the series finished all square at one-all.

Nov-Dec 2022

Australia beat West Indies by 164 runs in Perth

Double hundreds to Labuschagne and Smith and a rapid 95 from Head pushed Australia to a massive 4d-598 against the touring Indies. Starc and Cummins snared three wickets a piece as the visitors were bowled out for 283, and then Labuschagne went again, making a near run-a-ball 104 in Australia's second-innings 2d-182. Chasing 498 to win, West Indies were well led by their skipper Kraigg Brathwaite (110) but fell well short in the end, largely thanks to Lyon's 6-128.

Australia beat West Indies by 419 runs in Adelaide

Two more declarations, another Labuschagne hundred (163) and Head's highest Test score (175) made it very much one-way traffic in the pink-ball day-night Test in Adelaide. That theme was reinforced when West Indies were rolled for 214 (Lyon 3-57) and a paltry 77 (Boland 3-16) to be hammered inside four days.

Dec-Jan 2022-23

Australia beat South Africa by six wickets in Brisbane

A rare two-day Test unfolded on a Gabba minefield, as South Africa scraped their way to 152 before Head's aggressive 92 from 96 balls gave the Aussies a crucial 66-run advantage. Starc claimed Test wicket number 300 and Cummins then took centre stage, claiming 5-42 as the Proteas succumbed for just 99. Chasing only 34 to win, the hosts lost four wickets to Kagiso Rabada but got home inside eight overs, with extras (19) the top scorer.

Australia beat South Africa by an inns & 182 runs in Melbourne

Allrounder Green stepped up splendidly with the ball to take his first five-wicket haul in Tests (5-27) as South Africa were bowled out for 189. David Warner then batted for six hours to make a superb 200 in his 99th Test while 'keeper Carey scored a maiden hundred (111) as the Aussies took a huge first-innings lead. When a commanding all-round bowling display saw South Africa bowled out for 204, the hosts could celebrate a first Test series victory over their southern hemisphere opponents since 2014.

Australia drew with South Africa in Sydney

Khawaja made his third hundred at the SCG in as many innings – a marathon 195no – while Smith posted his second of the summer as the Aussies made yet another declaration, this time at 4-475 ion their first innings. But rain was to prove the central player in this contest and despite a rare enforced follow-on by the hosts, the match was drawn.

Feb-Mar 2023

Australia lost to India by an inns & 132 runs in Nagpur

The ghosts of India tours past came back to haunt the Australians in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy series opener, when Cummins' men were bowled out for 177 and 91. No-one posted a half-century for the match, and in between, India overcame the wiles of debutant spinner Todd Murphy (7-124) to reach 400, which proved more than enough to earn them a one-nil lead.

Australia lost to India by six wickets in Delhi

The Aussies bounced back in Delhi, thanks initially to Khawaja's 81 and 72no from Peter Handscomb, which gave them a first-innings total of 263. In reply, India slipped to 7-139 but Australia couldn't seize the advantage, and what might have been a significant first-innings lead was reduced to just one run when the hosts' tail wagged. From there, it was an all-too familiar case of a disastrous second innings collapse, as the Aussies lost 8-48 to be all out 113, India getting the required 115 four wickets down and retaining the Border-Gavaskar trophy.

Australia beat India by nine wickets in Indore

Left-arm spinner Matthew Kuhnemann took a remarkable 5-16 in just his second Test as the Australians bit back hard in the third Test, bowling India out for 109 on day one before Khawaja's 60 headlined a reply of 197. Veteran spinner Lyon then took control of the match, taking 8-64 to leave his side needing just 76 to win. What might have been a nervy chase became a doddle thanks largely to Head's aggressive unbeaten 49 from 53 balls.

Australia drew with India in Ahmedabad

A flat pitch made for a particularly high-scoring affair, with Khawaja scoring his 14th Test hundred (180) and sixth of the WTC cycle, before young allrounder Green (114) chimed in with his first. India replied to Australia's 480 with 571 of their own, but unlike the previous matches in the series, wickets proved few and far between, and the contest ended in a tame draw.

June 2023

Australia beat India by 209 runs at The Oval

After Australia slipped to 3-76, Head and Smith produced a record-breaking 285-run stand across much of day one that handed Australia the ascendancy in the World Test Championship Final. India fought hard but could never quite get back on a level footing with the Australians who, after a fine 66no from Carey, set their opponents 444 to win. On the final morning, it was Boland who broke through to put them on the path to what was ultimately a convincing win.

Leading run-scorers

Usman Khawaja: 1621 runs at an average of 64.84

Marnus Labuschagne: 1576 runs at 52.53

Steve Smith: 1407 runs at 52.11

Travis Head: 1389 runs at 55.56

Leading wicket-takers

Nathan Lyon: 88 wickets at 26.12

Pat Cummins: 57 wickets at 22.15

Mitchell Starc: 55 wickets at 27.98

Scott Boland: 33 wickets at 14.57

Players used: Ashton Agar, Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Pat Cummins, Cameron Green, Peter Handscomb, Marcus Harris, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Usman Khawaja, Matt Kuhnemann, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Todd Murphy, Michael Neser, Matt Renshaw, Jhye Richardson, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Mitchell Swepson, David Warner