Australia boast the best home Test W/L ratio of 2.543 — here’s why touring teams find trips Down Under so daunting.
Australia have enjoyed the best win-loss ratio of 2.543 at home in Test history, with 262 victories in 450 games. It’s an incredible record to have over the years in the longest format despite the continuous swapping of players over decades. Even in the recent past, the World Test Championship (WTC) 2021-23 winners have an excellent record in home red-ball clashes.
Most Test wins at home for teams in history
| Team | Mat | Won | Lost | Tied | Draw | W/L |
| Australia | 450 | 262 | 103 | 01 | 84 | 2.543 |
| England | 558 | 241 | 132 | 00 | 185 | 1.825 |
| India | 296 | 122 | 58 | 01 | 115 | 2.103 |
| SA | 254 | 121 | 77 | 00 | 56 | 1.571 |
| WI | 270 | 95 | 74 | 00 | 101 | 1.283 |
| NZ | 235 | 76 | 71 | 00 | 88 | 1.070 |
| Sri Lanka | 162 | 72 | 47 | 00 | 43 | 1.531 |
| Pakistan | 173 | 64 | 31 | 00 | 78 | 2.064 |
| BAN | 81 | 14 | 53 | 00 | 14 | 0.264 |
| Zimbabwe | 73 | 10 | 43 | 00 | 20 | 0.232 |
| Ireland | 02 | 01 | 01 | 00 | 00 | 1.000 |
Visiting teams haven’t enjoyed their time down under in the five-day format. England have won 57 red-ball games in Australia at a win-loss ratio of 0.575. Over the last 15-20 years, India and South Africa have been the two most successful sides in those conditions.
Most Test wins by visiting teams in Australia in history
| Team | Mat | Won | Lost | Tied | Draw | W/L |
| England | 185 | 57 | 99 | 00 | 29 | 0.575 |
| WI | 70 | 19 | 40 | 01 | 10 | 0.475 |
| India | 57 | 10 | 33 | 00 | 14 | 0.303 |
| SA | 44 | 10 | 23 | 00 | 11 | 0.434 |
| Pakistan | 40 | 04 | 29 | 00 | 07 | 0.137 |
| NZ | 34 | 03 | 20 | 00 | 11 | 0.150 |
| BAN | 02 | 00 | 02 | 00 | 00 | 0000 |
| Sri Lanka | 15 | 00 | 13 | 00 | 02 | 0000 |
| Zimbabwe | 02 | 00 | 02 | 00 | 00 | 0000 |
Australia’s performance at home in three periods from 1919 to 2007
Australia’s home dominance can be defined in three eras. It started from the beginning of 1919 and ended in 1948, when they won seven Test series at home with a win-loss ratio of 2.50. Donald Bradman was their most successful batter with 4322 runs, while Clarrie Grimmett was the highest Test wicket-taker (105) at home.
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Post-World War I to Bradman era- The Invincibles (1919 to 1948)
| Team | Mat | Won | Lost | Draw | W/L | Series win | Series defeat |
| Australia | 45 | 30 | 12 | 03 | 2.50 | 07 | 02 |
| England | 30 | 11 | 17 | 02 | 0.64 | 02 | 04 |
| India | 05 | 00 | 04 | 01 | 0.00 | 00 | 01 |
| SA | 05 | 00 | 05 | 00 | 0.00 | 00 | 01 |
| WI | 05 | 01 | 04 | 00 | 0.00 | 00 | 01 |
Top three Australia batters in Australia between 1919-1948
| Player | Inns | Runs | Avg | 50s | 100s | HS |
| D Bradman | 50 | 4322 | 98.22 | 10 | 18 | 299* |
| W Woodfull | 33 | 1421 | 47.36 | 09 | 04 | 161 |
| S McCabe | 31 | 1273 | 42.43 | 09 | 02 | 187* |
Top three Australia bowlers in Australia between 1919-1948
| Player | Inns | Wkts | Avg | 5W | 10W | BBI |
| C Grimmett | 34 | 105 | 24.59 | 09 | 03 | 7/83 |
| H Ironmonger | 27 | 74 | 17.97 | 04 | 02 | 7/23 |
| A Mailey | 16 | 60 | 32.41 | 05 | 02 | 9/121 |
The second era is between 1949 and 1976. Australia earned 41 home Test victories out of 80 Tests at a win-loss ratio of 2.56, including 10 series wins. Bill Lawry is their leading run-getter in this period at home with 2818 runs at 58.36. Meanwhile, Graham McKenzie is their highest home wicket-taker of the duration with 109 wickets.
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Post-World War II to Ian Chappell era (1949-1976)
| Team | Mat | Won | Lost | Draw | W/L | Series win | Series defeat |
| Australia | 80 | 41 | 16 | 22 | 2.56 | 10 | 02 |
| England | 37 | 09 | 09 | 13 | 0.60 | 02 | 03 |
| WI | 21 | 04 | 04 | 02 | 0.28 | 00 | 04 |
| SA | 10 | 03 | 03 | 04 | 1.00 | 00 | 00 |
| Pakistan | 05 | 00 | 03 | 02 | 00 | 00 | 01 |
| India | 04 | 00 | 04 | 00 | 00 | 00 | 01 |
| NZ | 03 | 00 | 02 | 01 | 00 | 00 | 01 |
Top three Australia batters in Australia between 1949-1976
| Player | Inns | Runs | Avg | 50s | 100s | HS |
| W Lawry | 54 | 2818 | 56.36 | 15 | 08 | 205 |
| R Harvey | 64 | 2640 | 44.00 | 11 | 07 | 205 |
| I Chappell | 63 | 2563 | 42.71 | 12 | 07 | 196 |
Top three Australia bowlers in Australia between 1949-1976
| Player | Inns | Wkts | Avg | 5W | 10W | BBI |
| G McKenzie | 49 | 109 | 30.60 | 05 | 02 | 8/71 |
| R Benaud | 54 | 104 | 30.74 | 05 | 00 | 6/115 |
| W Johnston | 38 | 85 | 24.58 | 05 | 00 | 6/62 |
The most successful era in Australia’s cricket history at home came between 1989 and 2007. They collected 74 Test wins in 108 games, including 28 series wins, and dropped only two series. Their former captain, Ricky Ponting, was their leading run-getter of the period at home with 5630 runs. Shane Warne was the highest wicket-taker (319) for Australia at home in that duration.
Invincible Part 2 – Warne & McGrath Era (1989 to 2007)
| Team | Mat | Won | Lost | Draw | W/L | Series win | Series defeat |
| Australia | 108 | 74 | 10 | 24 | 7.40 | 28 | 02 |
| England | 25 | 03 | 18 | 04 | 0.16 | 00 | 05 |
| WI | 20 | 04 | 13 | 03 | 0.30 | 02 | 03 |
| India | 13 | 01 | 09 | 03 | 0.11 | 00 | 04 |
| NZ | 12 | 00 | 06 | 06 | 00 | 00 | 04 |
| Pakistan | 12 | 01 | 09 | 02 | 0.11 | 00 | 04 |
| SA | 12 | 01 | 07 | 04 | 0.14 | 00 | 03 |
| SL | 09 | 00 | 07 | 02 | 00 | 00 | 04 |
| BAN | 02 | 00 | 02 | 00 | 00 | 00 | 01 |
| ZIM | 02 | 00 | 02 | 00 | 00 | 00 | 01 |
Top three Australia batters in Australia between 1989-2007
| Player | Inns | Runs | Avg | 50s | 100s | HS |
| Ricky Ponting | 107 | 5630 | 63.25 | 26 | 18 | 257 |
| Steve Waugh | 116 | 4924 | 50.76 | 23 | 15 | 170 |
| M Hayden | 86 | 4822 | 61.82 | 16 | 19 | 380 |
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Top three Australia bowlers in Australia between 1989-2007
| Player | Inns | Wkts | Avg | 5W | 10W | BBI |
| Shane Warne | 129 | 319 | 26.39 | 15 | 04 | 8/71 |
| Glenn McGrath | 131 | 289 | 22.43 | 11 | 02 | 8/24 |
| B Lee | 66 | 155 | 28.25 | 05 | 00 | 5/30 |
Australia’s hostile bowling in challenging conditions creates pressure on batters
In Australia, adjustment to the bounce is key for any batter to score runs. Moreover, there is movement with the new ball; Reverse swing also comes into play when it loses shine. In different cities, pitches behave differently. In Perth, the pace and bounce always troubles the batters and questions their backfoot batting skills. Meanwhile, in Adelaide and Sydney, it’s about patience and technique against spin, deep into the Test matches.
In the last few years, batting has become more difficult in Australia due to the changed Kookaburra ball, which has an extra layer of lacquer on it. The characters of drop-in pitches have also changed in the last few years.
“With grassier pitches and more pronounced seams, batters are more likely to face that unplayable ball now and then. It’s certainly more challenging.” Steven Smith, their former captain, told the Sydney Morning Herald.
Opposition teams struggle to find a suitable length in Australia.Even on bouncy surfaces, bowlers need to be meticulous about their lengths. It’s just not about bowling short all day long. But therein lies the issue: the visiting bowlers find it tough to dislodge the Australia batters.
India couldn’t make a hat-trick of Test series wins in Australia after their successive victories in BGT 2018-19 and 2020-21. In around two days, England will kickstart their Ashes campaign in these challenging conditions. Hard to believe, but England last won a Test in Australia in the first week of 2011.
Pat Cummins brings back Australia’s golden home Test success
Australia struggled a little at home when Steve Smith and David Warner were banned from the national side. But once Pat Cummins was appointed the captain, they regained their Test success. Since the beginning of Ashes 2021-22, they have won 15 out of their 20 home red-ball clashes. They have yet to lose a home red-ball series since that period.
Most Test wins in Australia since Ashes 2021-22
| Team | Mat | Won | Lost | Draw | W/L | Series win | Series Defeat |
| Australia | 20 | 15 | 02 | 03 | 7.50 | 05 | 00 |
| England | 05 | 00 | 04 | 01 | 00 | 00 | 01 |
| India | 05 | 01 | 03 | 01 | 0.33 | 00 | 01 |
| WI | 04 | 01 | 03 | 00 | 0.33 | 00 | 00 |
| Pakistan | 03 | 00 | 03 | 00 | 00 | 00 | 01 |
| SA | 03 | 00 | 02 | 01 | 00 | 00 | 01 |
Travis Head is their leading Test run-getter at home with 1530 runs since the Ashes 2021-22. Pat Cummins is the highest wicket-taker at home in that duration with 85 wickets.
Top three Australia batters in Australia since Ashes 2021-22
| Player | Inns | Runs | Avg | 50s | 100s | HS |
| T Head | 30 | 1530 | 54.64 | 06 | 06 | 175 |
| Labuschagne | 36 | 1404 | 45.29 | 09 | 04 | 204 |
| S Smith | 35 | 1358 | 45.26 | 05 | 04 | 200* |
Top three Australia bowlers in Australia since Ashes 2021-22
| Player | Inns | Wkts | Avg | 5W | 10W | BBI |
| P Cummins | 35 | 85 | 18.34 | 06 | 01 | 5/38 |
| M Starc | 38 | 74 | 25.43 | 01 | 00 | 6/48 |
| N Lyon | 34 | 68 | 25.51 | 01 | 00 | 6/128 |
The upcoming five-match Ashes 2025-26 series, starting November 21 at the Optus Stadium in Perth, could possibly be the last home Test series for a few Australia players. But even with a mix consisting of new generation players, they have the skills to retain the same success in home Tests. Afterall, it’s always an acid Test to beat Australia down under in the longest format.
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