West Indies from the 1980s and Australia from the early 2000s have usually held the tag of the greatest cricket teams to ever to be assembled, but do they have a new challenger now?
With the Australia women team winning the 2022 Commonwealth Gold medal, the debate is on—is this Australian women team among the greatest cricketing sides ever?
List of Greatest Cricket Teams
We will consider the modern-day cricket i.e. only the eras after the 1970s (there were great dominant Australian teams in the 1940s and earlier as well).
Winners of the 1975 ODI World Cup, 1979 ODI World Cup, and Runner Up in the 1983 ODI WC (regarded as a massive upset), Clive Lloyd’s men etched their name into glory.They were world beaters in Test match cricket as well with towering fast bowlers even till the mid-1990s.
Record
Most Consecutive Test Series without defeat (29), from 1980-1995
Key Players
Clive Lloyd (C), Garfield Sobers, Sir Vivian Richards, Sir Gordon Greenidge, Desmond Haynes, Michael Holding, Malcolm Marshall, Sir Andy Roberts, Joel Garner, Courtney Walsh, Curtly Ambrose, Lance Gibbs, Colin Croft, Deryck Murray, Lawrence Rowe, Alvin Kallicharan, Roy Fredericks, Rohan Kanhai, Larry Gomes
2020 T20 World Cup, 2022 ODI World Cup, 2022 Commonwealth Gold, 26 Winning ODI Streak (2018-2021)
Women’s cricket in Australia was always going to be one step forward due to awareness and funding. They have most of the ODI and T20 World Cups anyway, so how much better could this team be?
Well, this team is very, very good. They do not lose Test matches, have only lost a couple of ODIs in the last four years, and when it seemed the gas was running out, Ash Gardner & co made sure Australia had the mental strength to comeback from jaws of defeat. All this with the great Ellyse Perry on the sidelines.
16 Series Without Defeat (2001-2004) followed by 9 series (2005-2008)
Key Players
Ricky Ponting, Steve Waugh, Matthew Hayden, Adam Gilchrist, Justin Langer, Shane Warne, Glenn McGrath, Brett Lee, Shane Watson, Andrew Symonds, Michael Bevan, Mark Waugh, Dean Jones, Darren Lehmann, Damien Martyn, Stuart MacGill, Jason Gillespie, Simon Katich, Brad Hogg, Brad Hodge, Michael Kasprowicz, Andy Bichel, Nathan Bracken
During this era, South Africa did not win a World Cup. Nor did they establish absolute dominance, but the thing was in an era where the Australian side had begun their descent, no team in the world was quite as strong.
South Africa though challenged teams all around the world, most notably winning in Australia and drawing in India. The era finally collapsed after 2015-16 season, but they gave it all in their final stand – The Blockathon.
Test Record
14 series without defeat (2008-14)
Key Players
Graeme Smith, Jacques Kallis, Faf du Plessis, Hashim Amla, AB De Villiers, Dale Steyn, Morne Morkel, Mark Boucher, Vernon Philander, JP Duminy, David Miller, Imran Tahir, Shaun Pollock (end of career), Makhaya Ntini (end of career), Ashwell Prince
Most World Cup winning teams are some of the greatest teams in a nations history, but why did I choose the England 2015-2022 team? It is because of the dominant nature of their high risk ODI cricket that they became famous for. Started by Brendon McCullum in the 2015 ODI World Cup, Eoin Morgan took the baton and carried England forward.
Yes flat pitches, bigger bats, and all but 498/4, 481/6, 444/3, 418/6, 408/9, & 399/6 is just another level of dominance. High risk meant that they lost more often, but they changed ODI cricket forever.
Key Players
Eoin Morgan, Joe Root, Alex Hales, Jonny Bairstow, Jason Roy, Jos Buttler, Ben Stokes, Jofra Archer, Liam Plunkett, Adil Rashid, Chris Woakes, Moeen Ali, David Willey, Sam Curran, Mark Wood, Tom Curran, Chris Jordan, Liam Livingstone, James Vince, Joe Denly
Honorable Mention
Sri Lanka (1996-2015), Pakistan (1985-1999), India (2008-2013), India (2018-present), South Africa (1992-1999), England (2008-2011)
Do you agree that these are the greatest cricket teams? Comment below and let us know.
Cricket at the 2022 Birmingham Commonwealth games was a watershed moment in world cricket.
With the ICC trying to push for cricket’s inclusion in the 2028 LA Olympics, women’s cricket at CWG was a trial run. No post-match presentation ceremonies, Barbados participating as a separate qualified nation, different Covid-19 protocols, and finally a ‘Gold Medal’ match for cricket.
The good news? It was more or less a success. The semi-finals, finals, and the Bronze medal match all went down to the wire. Unlike the rumored T10 format for the Olympics, it was nice to see that T20 did the job fairly well. The best of all – crowds were in!
Hosting a world wide tournament in England is one thing…in a non-Test cricket playing nation…that may be a different challenge altogether.
India, Australia, England, and New Zealand qualified for the semi-finals. With the exception of a NZ team (which was on a downfall earlier), this was not exactly was a surprise.
Sri Lanka were bowled out for 46 & 102, Barbados bundled out for 62 & 64, and Pakistan all out for 99. On the flip side, Australia chased 155 out of nowhere, and the big teams had 11 scores combined between 150-170.
3. Australia are Invincible
In the opening match of the tournament, Renuka Singh’s four wicket haul were struggling at 49/5, courtesy Renuka Singh’s 49/5.
Then, I tweeted this – a seemingly arrogant headline by ESPNCricinfo, already gifting the gold medal to Australia
And suddenly, @ESPNcricinfo's headline of "…But the Gold seems reserved for #Australia" seems a bit far fetched….👀😅🤔
— Broken Cricket Dreams Cricket Blog (@cricket_broken) July 29, 2022
And guess what? Ash Gardner scored an unbeaten 52*(35) to take Australia home with Grace Harris and Alana King providing strong support.
It seems that Gold is reserved for this Australian team. This team is invincible – ODI World Cup, T20 World Cup, record streak of ODI wins, and now the Commonwealth Gold Medal.
This team is so strong that Ellyse Perry, yes the Ellyse Perry, sat on the sideline all tournament.
4. India lose out on nerves again, but is lack of WIPL the only reason?
India lost the final against Australia by 9 runs, the same margin they had lost in the 2017 ODI World Cup final. And in a similar fashion as well.
Chasing 162, India had recovered to a steady 118/2 in 14.2 overs. The young star, Jemimah Rodrigues and senior captain-slash-arch-nemesis, Harmanpreet Kaur were playing. Rodrigues was dismissed for 33 and Kaur followed soon with 65. Some baffling decisions with Yastika Bhatia, a regular #3 being sent at #9 & three run outs ensured India fell 9 run short, with 3 balls still to spare.
Social media went haywire with India’s inability to finish and ‘lack of mental strength’ accusations galore. Lots of pointers that the Women’s IPL has already been delayed 2-3 years too long and that resulted in not enough pressure situation practice.
That is partially true but a WIPL wouldn’t magically have done anything. Results and increased depth from WIPL will probably be seen in a decade from now at the earliest. This loss could be attributed to nerves in a final (regardless of the team), an Australian team one level above, and error in judgment by the set batters.
5. Early retirements a concern in women’s cricket too
Trent Boult’s semi-unofficial-retirement (in fashion of AB De Villiers), Ben Stokes’ ODI retirement, and Quinton de Kock’s Test retirement are not the only signs of cricket’s changing landscape.
Lizelle Lee (30) & Deandre Dottin (31) both announced shock retirements from international cricket. Although the reasons were different, it shows growing dissent between the players and respective boards.
Women’s cricket has become mainstream over the last decade, especially with the breakthrough 2017 ODI World Cup and the 2020 T20 World Cup final, but how much do we really about it?
The general public can remember who won the 1979 Cricket World Cup, Kapil Dev’s 1983 catch, Wasim Akram’s 1992 swing, South Africa’s collapses, and Australia’s dominance in men’s cricket. Here we will educate ourselves about the Women’s Cricket World Cup—How many World Cups have happened, what happened in each world cup, who is the highest runs scorer, wicket taker, and much more!
By the end of this article, you will know everything from history to prepare yourself for the upcoming 2022 Cricket World cup.
Cricket’s first ODI World Cup was the 1973 Women’s Cricket World Cup, not the 1975 Men’s Cricket World Cup.
Denmark played cricket? That’s right. While teams like Ireland and Netherlands made their impact in men’s world cup in the 2000s, teams like Ireland, Denmark, and Netherlands made their Women’s World Cup debut from the 1988 & 1993 world cups onwards.
In the 1973 World Cup, Jamaica & Trinidad and Tobago played as separate nations, not under West Indies.
In the 1973 & 1982 World Cup, an International XI was fielded as one of teams, comprised of players from England, New Zealand, Netherlands, Australia, India, Trinidad, and Jamaica.
Format: Round Robin (3 matches each), 6 matches total
Highest Run-Scorer: Margaret Jennings (127) – Australia
Highest Wicket Taker: Sharyn Hill (7) – Australia
Venue: New Zealand
Fun Fact:Australia won their first cricket world cup….first of their 20 world cups (5 men’s ODI, 1 T20 WC, 3 U-19 WC, 6 women’s ODI WC, 5 T20I WC)…WOW.
3. Hansells Vita Fresh 1982 Women’s Cricket World Cup
Venue: New Zealand
Winner: Australia 🥇
Runners Up: England 🥈
Teams: 5 (Australia, England, New Zealand, India, International XI)
Format: Triple Round Robin + Final (12 matches each), 31 matches total
Highest Run-Scorer: Jan Brittin (391) – England
Highest Wicket Taker: Lyn Fullston (23) – Australia (most in any women’s WC)
Fun Fact:Jackie Lord took 8-2-10-6 against India, women’s cricket best WC bowling figures to date. Electing to bat, NZ were bundled out for 80 in 58.5 overs via Diana Edulji’s 11.5-7-10-3 (60-over match). In reply, Lord helped bundle India for 37 in 35 overes.
Each team played each other THREE TIMES! Can you imagine that in today’s day and age? Also International XI makes a comeback.
Highest Run-Scorer: Debbie Hockley (456) – New Zealand (most in any women’s WC)
Highest Wicket Taker: Katrina Keenan (13) – New Zealand
Fun Fact:Belinda Clark 229* (pushing Australia to 412/7, best WC score ever till date) and Charlotte Edwards’ 173 broke ODI batting world records, Pakistan collapsed for 27/10 (lowest ever WC score), and Jhulan Goswami, on ball duty, was inspired to take up the sport as a child.The beginning of professionalization of women’s cricket (from skirts/culottes to trousers)
Teams: 8 (Australia, New Zealand, India, South Africa, England, Sri Lanka, Ireland, Netherlands)
Format: Round Robin + Semi-Finals + Finals, 31 matches total
Player of the Tournament:Lisa Keightley
Highest Run-Scorer: Karen Rolton (393) – Australia
Highest Wicket Taker: Charmaine Mason (17) – Australia
Fun Fact:A classic Australia Vs New Zealand final in New Zealand, who actually won their first (and only) ODI World Cup. The 2015 men’s world cup was actually just a revenge battle.
Teams: 8 (Australia, India, New Zealand, England, West indies, Sri Lanka, South Africa, Ireland)
Format: Round Robin + Semi-Finals + Finals, 31 matches total
Player of the Tournament: Karen Rolton (Australia) (Rolton boasts the best WC average across women’s WC – 74.92)
Highest Run-Scorer: Charlotte Edwards (280)
Highest Wicket Taker: Neetu David (20)
Fun Fact:Featured a star cast—Belinda Clark, Lisa Sthalekar, Karen Rolton, Lisa Keightley, Cathryn Fitzpatrick, Charlotte Edwards, Katherine Brunt, Isa Guha, Mithali Raj, Jhulan Goswami, Anjum Chopra, Neetu David, Anisa Mohammed—a clash of generations.
Teams: 8 (England, Sri Lanka, West Indies, India, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Pakistan)
Format: 2 Groups + Super Six + Final, 25 matches total
Player of the Tournament:Suzie Bates (New Zealand)
Highest Run-Scorer: Suzie Bates (407) – New Zealand
Highest Wicket Taker: Megan Schutt (15) – Australia
Fun Fact:India & Pakistan were the two teams that failed to qualify for the Super Sixes, while West Indies qualify for the Finals for the first (and only) time.
March 8th, 2020 with 86,174 spectators. The crescendo beginning in the 2017 Women’s ODI World Cup peaked on that day in the World T20 final between Australia and India. However, progress has stalled due to the COVID-19 break. The post-pandemic stats below show how the counterparts stacked between March 2020 & January 2021:
Maximum possible days of international cricket scheduled (5 days maximum per tests)
Men: 128 days
Women: 16 days (including 5 Austria-Germany T20Is)
Total Matches Played (international + T20 Leagues)
Men: 540
Women: 144
(Check out Who Cares About Women’s Cricket, where we displayed detailed list of post-COVID statistics, thoughts about women’s cricket & WIPL)
Miscommunication at its finest
Women’s cricket resumed in September 2020 as West Indies toured England. Later in the year, New Zealand played against Australia & England, and Pakistan visited South Africa. It took Indian women an entire year before playing against South Africa in March 2021. Proteas won the series comfortably 4-1 (ODIs) & 2-1 (T20I).
Although lack of match practice, domestic tournaments, & national camps was the reason for India’s defeat, highly regarded coach WV Raman was the casualty, alleging a “smear campaign” against him. Replacement Ramesh Powar, who famously had a fallout with Mithali Raj in 2018, was picked as the head coach again.
Stark Payment Gap
Although women cricketers have seen a marked increase in revenue since 2017, it is nearly not enough (with New Zealand, England, India, & Australia expanding central contracts).
BCCI’s latest contracts caused uproar. The highest paid men’s bracket is worth fourteen times as much as the highest paid women’s bracket.
Grade A+, consisting of Kohli, Sharma, and Bumrah earn about 7 crores (INR) or about $964,000 (USD). Grade A earn 5 crores ($689,000), B with 3 crores ($413,000), & C, consisting of the likes of Kuldeep & Gill, earn around 1 crore ($138,000).
Their counterparts—Mandhana, Kaur, & Poonam (Grade A) earn 50 lakhs INR ($68,000), while stalwarts like Mithali Raj & Jhulan Goswami (Grade B) plummet down to 30 lakhs ($41,000). This is comparable to the current standard around the world, but things do need to change.
What’s worse? World T20 finalist prize money worth $500,000 has not been paid yet, 14 months later. It took Isabelle Westbury’s Telegraph article & subsequent social media outrage to get BCCI to act, finally paying the dues.
The most profitable cricket board needs to allocate resources properly. The least they can do is avoid media stunts and focus on tangible progressive changes.
Hope In Times of Uncertainty
There is still hope, however.
Indian women will play two Test matches (last Test in 2014) this year, one each against England & Australia. The Test in Australia will be a day-night affair, which adds another layer of excitement.
Ireland & Scotland women are also back in action right now with a T20 series. New Zealand’s England tour in September is the only other scheduled series prior to the ODI World Cup (March 2022).
The Hundred Is the Savior
The Hundred in July this year promises to be a game-changer for women’s cricket.
All men & women’s game will be held on the same day on the same ground, will be televised (including free-to-air games), and prize money will be shared evenly between the winners of the men’s & women’s tournaments. It has the potentialize to revolutionize the women’s game and become a template for other T20 leagues to follow.
Even Indian players have been given the green signal to participate in the Women’s Hundred & the Women’s Big Bash League (WBBL).
When Will the Attitudes Change Towards Women’s Cricket?
Australia, England, New Zealand are prime examples of how to recruit the future of women’s cricket, with efforts visible in the WBBL & New Zealand’s Super Smash tournaments.
Yet, there is still a long way to go. Each national board should prioritize women’s cricket, invest accordingly in the infrastructure, and work together with other nations to uplift standards.
