Over 50 Australian cricketers have been inducted into their Hall of Fame, but who are the five greatest from that elite set of sporting superstars?
1 Don Bradman
Surely the legendary Sir Don Bradman has to be at the top of any list.
The man known simply as ‘The Don’, once hailed by a former Australian prime minister as the “greatest living Australian”, set batting records that will never be eclipsed.
A natural, unorthodox and entertaining batsman, Bradman’s final Test match average of 99.94 is one of cricket’s most enduring (and jaw-dropping) statistics. Out for a duck in his last Test innings, had he made just four he would have signed off with a Test average of 100.
2 Shane Warne
The late, great Shane Warne, the only specialist bowler in Wisden’s top five cricketers of the last century, was the man who took the dying art of leg-spin bowling to new, dizzy heights.
A colourful character both off and on the pitch, he announced his arrival with the infamous ball of the century, the wicked leg break that bamboozled Mike Gatting in the 1993 Ashes.
Warne would go on to take 708 Test wickets in a hugely-successful 15-year international career. Very sadly passed away in March 2022, aged just 52.
3 Adam Gilchrist
High among any list of world’s greatest all-rounders would have to be Adam Gilchrist, the wicketkeeper/batsman who redefined the role of the international glovesmith.
He was a natural one-dayer, an aggressive batsman with a 96-plus strike rate who helped the Baggy Greens to win three World Cup titles.
But he also took his exuberant style into the Test arena – he managed a 57-ball ton against England in 2006 and was the first man to smash 100 sixes in Test cricket.
4 Dennis Lillee
During the 1970s there wasn’t a faster, more aggressive, more successful pace bowler than DK Lillee, one part of one of the most famous double acts in cricket.
Lillee and Thomson – his bowling partner, Jeff – was a twosome to be feared all around the world with Lillee going on to take 355 wickets at under 24 in just 70 matches. When he retired in 1984, he held the record for the most Test wickets.
His other great partner was keeper Rod Marsh, the two of them combining for 95 dismissals, a world record which stands to this day.
5 Ricky Ponting
The most successful captain in international history, Ricky Ponting lead Australia to an incredible 220 victories at a win rate of almost 68 percent in the three formats of the game.
He guided his country to two World Cup triumphs and was named player of the series when skippering Australia to a famous 5-0 Ashes whitewash in 2006-07.
Ponting is also the second highest runscorer in Test cricket with 13,378 runs, behind only the legendary Sachin Tendulkar.