There is no other team that has dominated in world cricket quite like Australia across generations, isn’t it? And the main reason behind their supremacy is the batters the country has produced thus far.
Over the years, Australia have had the services of some of the finest batters who showed their batting brilliance across different conditions. And they did so in the Test format, which is quite tough to conquer as a batter.
Despite the challenge, a few Aussies managed to cross the 10000-run barrier in the longest format. So this article will list the Australian batters who have scored 10000 runs in Test cricket.
1. Allan Border
After Sunil Gavaskar became the first-ever batter to score 10000 Test runs in 1987, Allan Border followed him six years later. The former Australian captain reached the milestone in his 136th Test (235 innings), becoming the first from his country to 10000 Test runs.
Border was a wonderful batter of his era, scoring most of his runs in the middle order. He led by example while accumulating 11174 runs in 156 matches.
The left-hand batter averaged 50.56 while also adding 27 centuries and 63 fifties in his 15-year-long Test career.
2. Steve Waugh
Exactly a decade later, Steve Waugh became the second Australian to score 10000 runs in Test cricket. He completed the milestone run in his 156th match (244 innings) in January 2003.
Similar to Border, Waugh held his team’s foundation while batting in the middle order. The right-hander bowed out of red-ball cricket with 10927 runs in 168 Tests. His run tally also included 32 hundreds and 50 half-centuries.
3. Ricky Ponting
Australia’s highest run-getter in Test cricket, Ricky Ponting, was the third from his nation to score 10000 runs in the format. He emulated his predecessors to get to the milestone in 2008.
Ponting was a prolific batter, earning him the tag of one of the greatest Australian batters. He was a force with the bat, scoring plenty of runs with aggression while batting at No. 3.
Ponting hung up his boots in Test cricket in 2012 while boasting a massive run-tally of 13378 runs in 168 matches. His 17-year-long Test career was dotted with 41 centuries and 62 fifties.
4. Steven Smith
One of the modern-day batting greats, Steven Smith, became the fourth Australian batter to accumulate 10000 Test runs. He started his career as a leg spinner, but destiny had some other plan.
Smith couldn’t make a mark as a leggie, but he returned to action as a better batter. And within years, he established himself as a solid top-order batter.
The right-hand batter has excelled in the Test arena, getting to his 10000th run in his 115th match. He topped the milestone by raising his 35th Test century in the first Test against Sri Lanka in January 2025.
Smith still has a lot of cricket left in himself and will look to add more runs to his tally while possibly getting closer to Ponting’s numbers.
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