The pantheon of willow: Ranking cricket’s greatest test dynasties

By Harsh Thakor* 

Selecting the best teams in Test cricket history is a deeply subjective venture. In this feature, I have ranked the finest sides in order of merit, attempting to strike a balance between statistical achievements and the sheer strength or talent within a squad.

1. Australia (1999–2004)

No team has rampaged with such intensity or dominated the cricket world in such realms. This Australian side registered a record 16 consecutive Test match wins in 2001, pulverising powerful South African teams both home and away, as well as dispatching England and Pakistan on their own soil. Winning five consecutive Tests against South Africa in 2001 was a phenomenal feat.

The only blot on their record was losing a series in India in 2001. But with players like Steve Waugh, Mark Waugh, Ricky Ponting, Adam Gilchrist, Matthew Hayden, Shane Warne and Glenn McGrath, this team defined invincibility in arguably unparalleled realms. Gilchrist, McGrath and Warne were ultimate match-winners; Steve Waugh was the epitome of tenacity; Ponting and Mark Waugh brought class; Hayden and Langer provided the most impetuous of starts.

No team has ever escalated professionalism to such levels or expressed a desire to win so intensely. They surpassed the strike rates of all previous teams and boasted the best pace-spin combination ever. In my view, they were more professional and had a higher killer instinct than even the West Indies teams led by Clive Lloyd.

2. West Indies (1977–1985)

This all-powerful team, led by Clive Lloyd, scaled mythical invincibility, sweeping aside opponents and ruling the cricket world for an unmatched tenure. They pulled the wool over the eyes of the most powerful opponents in every corner of the globe – whether on the seaming tops of England, the bouncy tracks of Australia, or the turning pitches of the subcontinent.

With the most lethal pace attack ever assembled – Malcolm Marshall, Michael Holding, Joel Garner and Andy Roberts – fortified by great batsmen like Viv Richards, Gordon Greenidge and Clive Lloyd, this Calypso team is arguably the best ever in cricket history. In 1984, they won a then-record 11 consecutive Test matches.

3. South Africa (1966–1970)

No team has ever had as many genuine all-rounders, nor demolished a powerful team like Australia by a 4–0 margin, as the South African side of this era. It contained specialist batsmen like Barry Richards and Graeme Pollock, talented all-rounders like Mike Procter, Eddie Barlow and Trevor Goddard, and a fine wicketkeeper-batsman in Lee Irvine. Debarred from official cricket from the 1970s due to apartheid, the world was denied what was arguably the most talented side ever.

4. Australia (1974–1976)

In this period, Australia comprehensively thrashed a strong English side 4–1 in 1974–75 and a multi-talented West Indies team 5–1 in 1975–76. They also won an Ashes series in England in 1975. This team possessed the most lethal pace duo of all time in Dennis Lillee and Jeff Thomson, an all-conquering batting line-up featuring Ian Chappell, Greg Chappell, Doug Walters, Keith Stackpole and Ian Redpath, supported by all-rounder Gary Gilmour. The cutting edge was provided by arguably the finest captain of all, Ian Chappell.

5. Australia (1948)

Bradman’s Invincibles swept aside a strong English team at the zenith of their power. In Bradman, they contained two great batsmen in one – their trump card – in addition to possessing the ultimate match-winning all-rounder in Keith Miller, arguably the best pace bowling duo of the era in Ray Lindwall and Keith Miller, and perhaps the finest left-handed middle-order batsman the world had known in Neil Harvey.

6. West Indies (1966–1970)

With Garry Sobers – arguably the greatest cricketer, let alone all-rounder, ever – this side also boasted batting stalwarts like Rohan Kanhai, Seymour Nurse and Basil Butcher, plus class fast bowlers Wes Hall and Charlie Griffith. They demolished England in 1966 but did not overpower Australia down under in 1968–69.

7. England (1926–1930)

England defeated powerful Australian sides home and away, propelled by great opening batsmen like Jack Hobbs and Herbert Sutcliffe, and great all-rounders in Wilfred Rhodes and Frank Woolley.

8. Pakistan (1987–1990)

Few Test teams have ever had such deep batting depth or a more versatile bowling attack. Backed by one of cricket’s most inspirational leaders and finest all-rounders in Imran Khan, accompanied by the wizardry of spinner Abdul Qadir, left-arm pacer Wasim Akram, and the mercurial batting of Javed Miandad and Salim Malik. Pakistan won series on Indian and English soil against the strongest teams and drew a rubber in the West Indies in 1988, coming within a whisker of winning the series before bad umpiring decisions robbed them of victory.

9. South Africa (2008–2015)

This side blended lethal pace with a talented batting line-up, containing arguably cricket’s best all-rounder since Sir Garry Sobers. They never lost a series overseas for six years and defeated Australia and England twice away, though they still did not win as many series as they should have. Great batsmen represented the Proteas – Hashim Amla, Graeme Smith and AB de Villiers – in addition to classical fast bowler Dale Steyn and the premier all-rounder of his era, Jacques Kallis. They defeated a strong English side away in 2012 to reach the top of the Test table.

10. Pakistan (1976–1979)

Led by Mushtaq Mohammad, this side secured Pakistan’s first ever drawn rubber on Australian soil and all but drew a series in the Caribbean in 1977. They possessed one of the most powerful batting line-ups in the game – Zaheer Abbas, Javed Miandad, Majid Khan, Asif Iqbal and Wasim Raja – backed by the pace bowling of Imran Khan and Sarfraz Nawaz, and the all-round skill of skipper Mushtaq Mohammad.

11. England (1967–1970)

Led by Ray Illingworth, this side swept the Ashes in Australia most convincingly, propelled by stars like Geoff Boycott, Dennis Amiss, John Snow and Derek Underwood.

12. India (2003–2004) and India (2018)

These Indian teams backed powerful batting line-ups with penetrative bowling attacks. The 2004 side had batting stalwarts like Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Virender Sehwag, VVS Laxman, Sourav Ganguly and MS Dhoni, backed by bowlers like Irfan Pathan, Zaheer Khan and Anil Kumble. The 2018 team featured match-winning batsmen like Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane and Cheteshwar Pujara, supported by star bowlers like Jasprit Bumrah and Ravi Ashwin.

In 2003–2004, India drew a series in Australia against possibly the best side ever and won their first series on Pakistani soil. In 2018–19, they won their first ever series in Australia.

14. Pakistan (1996–1999)

Possessed possibly the best ever bowling attack, blending top pace with spin – Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis and Saqlain Mushtaq. They also boasted all-rounders of the stature of Azhar Mahmood and Abdur Razzaq, plus star batsmen like Saeed Anwar, Inzamam-ul-Haq and Ijaz Ahmed.

15. India (1970–1973)

In this era, India won their first series on Caribbean and English soil, empowered by the most lethal spin bowling attack ever and backed by batting talents like Sunil Gavaskar, Dilip Sardesai, Ajit Wadekar and Gundappa Viswanath.

Final Verdict

I have placed Australia of 1999–2004 at the top when scrutinising professionalism, match-winners, organisation and balance – edging Clive Lloyd’s powerful West Indies team by a whisker. Lloyd’s men may have possessed more talent and destructive potential with their relentless pace battery, but in my view they did not equal Australia’s sheer balance in adapting to different conditions. On a fast surface, I would back West Indies. But on a flat track, seaming top or turning pitch, I would give Australia the edge.

With a gun to my head, I would have backed the South African team of the 1960s–70s to become the best ever Test side, had they not been curtailed by apartheid and barred from international cricket. Man for man, the South African team of 1969–70 was arguably the strongest ever when you weigh the quality and number of genuine all-rounders and batting strength.

The Australian team of the mid-1970s, man for man, may well have outpowered the best later teams of West Indies and Australia when you measure batting quality and the lethality of the bowling attack. In my view, both these sides, at their brief peak, could well have been the best ever Test teams – overpowering the legendary West Indies side of Clive Lloyd and the Australian sides of Steve Waugh and Ricky Ponting.

I must also mention that Pakistan at their best under Imran Khan was not far behind, nor was Bradman’s Australian side of 1948 or the English team of 1926–30.

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*Freelance journalist