ICC Test Championship winners over the years

The “ICC Test Championship” is an international competition run by the International Cricket Council (ICC) in the sport of cricket for the 10 Test playing nations. It is simply a ranking system based on all Test matches that are played as part of the regular cricketing calendar. The points for winning a Test match or series are awarded such that if a team wins, it will get more points than its current rating and if it loses, it will get lesser points, thus affecting the rating cumulatively. A drawn match between higher and lower rated teams will benefit the lower-rated team at the expense of the higher-rated team. The ICC Chief awards the ICC Test Championship mace to the team holding the highest rating on 1 April each year along with a cash prize of $1 million. Australia have always been dominant in Test cricket, holding the mace for 9 times in the past 15 years. Let us look into the different teams that have won the prestigious prize over the years and how: 1. Australia – 2001/02 (Matches 14, Won 9, Lost 2, Drawn 3) Steve Waugh.(Photo by WILLIAM WEST/AFP/Getty Images) In the inaugural year of the ICC Test Championship, Australia cemented their supremacy by finishing at the top of the ladder in the 2001/02 season. Under the leadership of Steve Waugh, their first stop was England where they wrapped up the Ashes 4-1, winning the first three games on the trot. Mark Waugh was the highest run getter for Australia as the deadly duo of Glenn McGrath and Shane Warne shared 63 England wickets between them. Next up was the Trans-Tasman series at home which featured 3 draws. Australia then whitewashed the touring Proteas, hammering them with defeats by 246 runs, 9 wickets and 10 wickets in the 3-Test series. Warne and McGrath once again did the damage with the ball, picking up 17 and 14 wickets each while Matthew Hayden led the run-getters list with 3 hundreds in the series. Australia toured South Africa immediately after that and again wrapped up the three-match series 2-1, winning the first two games by an innings and 360 runs and 4 wickets, handing the hosts their biggest loss in the history of Test cricket till date. 2. Australia – 2002/03: (Matches 8, Won 7, Lost 1) Shane Warne (L) and wicketkeeper Adam Gilchrist (R). (Photo credit should read ALEXANDER JOE/AFP/Getty Images) Australia played Pakistan in Colombo and Sharjah for a 3-Test series where they accomplished another clean sweep, winning two out of the three matches by an innings margin. Under helpful conditions for Pakistani bowlers, it was Warne who turned the screw on the Pakistan batting lineup, picking up 27 wickets from 3 Tests. Australia beat England 4-1 at home, once again winning the first four matches consecutively. It was Hayden’s 496 runs and Gillespie’s 20 wickets that helped Australia retain the Ashes as well as the number 1 ranking for the second year running. 3. Australia – 2003/04: (Matches 15, Won 11, Lost 2, Drawn 2) (Photo Source: Andrew Flintoff Twitter) The West Indies were no match for the touring Australians in the 2003 Frank Worrell Trophy and were beaten 3-1, in their own backyard. Ricky Ponting had a monumental series where he piled up 523 runs at an average of 130. Next up were short tours of Bangladesh and Zimbabwe which were fended off easily by the Australian team. It was the first time in quite a while, that the mighty Australians were challenged by a touring side. India, on their 2003/04 tour of Australia managed to gain a 1-0 lead in the series after the first two Tests riding on Dravid’s 233 & 72* in Adelaide but Steve Waugh playing his last Test at Sydney ensured there was no miracle happening in the Indian camp and the series ended in a 1-1 draw. A new era had begun, Australia then asserted their dominance in Sri Lanka, winning another series by a 3-0 margin under the new captain Ricky Ponting. Damien Martyn and Darren Lehmann were the two pillars of strength for the Aussies throughout the series. 4. Australia – 2004/05: (Matches 12, Won 10, Lost 1, Drawn 1) (© WILLIAM WEST/AFP/Getty Images) Sri Lanka returned for a 2-Test series in July 2004 and managed to save one of the two Tests but still lost the series 1-0. After that, Australia traveled to India for a tough round of Border-Gavaskar series, but with a little bit of luck, they managed to regain the trophy by 2-1. Australia then completed back to back series wins against New Zealand which sandwiched a 3-0 whitewash of Pakistan. Australia routed the touring Pakistan team by 491 runs in the first Test, one of the biggest losses in Test cricket by runs. In the same series, Glenn McGrath picked up his best bowling figures in Tests – 8/24 as Pakistan were bowled out for a paltry 72. 5. Australia – 2005/06: (Matches 17, Won 12, Lost 2, Drawn 3) Glenn McGrath. (© Getty Images) Australia were 1-0 up in the 2005 Ashes but ultimately lost 2-1 after some highly entertaining cricket. All of the 4 Test matches after the first one were close contests which led it to being called “the most thrilling series ever”. After that Australia regained their damaged pride by defeating the ICC World XI in a match to test their dominance. The Australian team then steamrolled the West Indies 3-0 and South Africa 2-0 both at home. Ponting was in the form of his life and his team as looking unstoppable. On their return tour to South Africa in March 2006, they humiliated the hosts, sealing a 3-0 victory and another top of the rankings finish in the calendar year. Ricky Ponting, the Australian captain was named the ICC Player of the Year and Test Player of the year for 2005/06. 6. Australia – 2006/07: (Matches 7, Won 7) Ricky Ponting. (© Getty Images) The number one ranked team featured in only 7 Tests in the calendar year 2006/07, winning all of them. But the impact of 5 of these wins which came as a result of the English whitewash was massive. First up, they made short work of the Bangladeshis at their home. The Kangaroos then destroyed England and sent them packing with a 5-0 humiliation in the Ashes series of 2006/07. Three stalwarts of Australian Cricket Adam Gilchrist, Glenn McGrath and Shane Warne all took retirement after the last Test. Warne took 23, McGrath took 21 wickets in the series and wicketkeeper-batsman Adam Gilchrist smashed the fastest Test century by a wicketkeeper off 57 balls. 7. Australia – 2007/08: (Matches 6, Won 4, Lost 1, Drawn 1) Andrew Symonds. (© Getty Images) Post the Ashes, an influx of talent was observed in the Australian team. After defeating Sri Lanka yet again at home, Australians were up against a touring Indian side hoping to repeat the heroics of 2003. But a series marred by umpiring controversies and the “monkey-gate” scandal, ended with another victory for Australia. The Indian team did show some resistance but the Aussies as usually were too good for the opposition playing at home. Australia then traveled to West Indies and did what they always do, dominate their opposition. The series ended with a 2-0 result in favor of the tourists. 8. Australia – 2008/09: (Matches 12, Won 5, Lost 5, Drawn 2) Dale Steyn calls Mitchell Johnson a scary bowler. (© Getty Images) This was the year that brought the decline of the Australian cricket team in Test cricket. After sitting at the top for 7 years in the trot they hit a few roadblocks in the year. Australia lost the Border-Gavaskar trophy to India 2-0 after 8 years, struggling to cope up in the sub-continental conditions. Though they defeated New Zealand 2-0 in November at home, their biggest loss came against the Proteas. South Africa shocked the world by winning the first two Tests of the 3-match series. The era of home dominance by Australian teams was finally over. Australia though avenged their defeat later in South Africa by winning the series 2-1. 9. India – 2009/10: (Matches 7, Won 5, Lost 1, Drawn 1) Riding on a flurry of series victories, India managed to pip Australia for the top spot by the end of 2009/10 season. It was the first time since the inception of the ICC Test Championship that a team other than Australia earned the mace. The Indian team under MS Dhoni showed supremacy and dominance in the subcontinent by defeating Sri Lanka 2-0, Bangladesh 2-0 and tying with South Africa 1-1 after losing first of the two Tests. The Indian batsmen hammered the Lankan bowlers throughout the 3 Tests. Virender Sehwag, Rahul Dravid, Gautam Gambhir and MS Dhoni ended with averages of 122, 108, 94 and 107 respectively. Later in Feb 2010, India fought back after a shock defeat at the hands of South Africa to tie the series 1-1. 10. India – 2010/11: (Matches 11, Won 5, Lost 2, Drawn 4) Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni (2R) shakes hands with West Indies batsman Devendra Bishoo. (Photo by EMMANUEL DUNAND/AFP/Getty Images) On a tough tour of Sri Lanka, India managed to escape with a tie despite being 0-1 down after two Tests. MS Dhoni’s team once again defeated Australians in a home series 2-0 to retain the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. They fended off the New Zealand team with an innings defeat after the first two Tests were drawn. India then came within a touching distance of a first-ever series win in South Africa but Jacques Kallis’ first maiden Test match double century in the second innings of the 4th Test denied India of the rare feat. But with 5 wins in 11 Test matches, it was a great year for the Indian cricket team and they managed to retain the mace they had won the previous year. 11. England – 2011/2012: (Matches 12, Won 9, Lost 1, Drawn 2) Strauss says the hype and publicity surrounding Kevin Pietersen has distracted the ECB. (© Getty Images) England were in contention for the top spot for quite some time now and a series win over Sri Lanka at home further pushed their claim. Next up was a home series against the number 1 ranked team. In a series dubbed as “Dravid vs England”, the Brits outplayed India in all 3 departments and humiliated with a scoreline of 4-0. Thus, the mantle of Test champion rather fittingly was passed on to England. But the journey at the top didn’t turn out smooth as the Englishmen then suffered a 3-0 whitewash at the hands of Pakistan in UAE and tied with Sri Lanka 1-1 in an away series which led to their quick downfall from the top. 12. South Africa – 2012/13: (Matches 11, Won 8, Drawn 3) Dale Steyn. (Photo Source: BCCI) South Africa were on a killing spree in 2012/13, crushing oppositions from all continents of the world. They started off against the number 1 ranked England and crushed them 2-0 at their home to take the number 1 spot. The Proteas then went on to win another memorable away series against Australia by 1-0. They inflicted back to back innings defeats on the touring Kiwis and sent them packing 2-0 without much fuss. The number 1 side then thrashed Pakistan 3-0 to end the year with the Mace and the cash prize. It also featured Dale Steyn’s haul of 6 wickets for 8 runs which demolished Pakistan in the first Test where they were shot out for just 49. 13. South Africa – 2013/14: (Matches 7, Won 3, Lost 3, Drawn 1) Graeme Smith captained 100+ Tests. (Photo Source: PA Photos) It was a year of ups and downs for South Africa. They lost the first match to Pakistan in UAE but then bundled them out for 99 in the next Test, taking the match by an innings and 92 runs. They managed to see off an inspired Indian side 1-0 in another 2-Test series towards the end of 2013. Then came Mitchell Johnson with his new found aura and blew away the South Africans with his raw pace and aggression. He wrapped up 22 wickets from the 3 Tests and had the South African batsmen on their toes for most of the time in the series. Despite a series defeat at home, the Proteas managed to hang on to the number 1 ranking by a thread. With that Graeme Smith & Co. became the third team to win the ICC Test Championship for two years in a row. 14. South Africa – 2014/15: (Matches 6, Won 4, Drawn 2) South Africa. (Photo Source: BCCI) South Africa recorded a brilliant Test win in Sri Lanka in the first Test on their tour in 2014 and held on for 111 overs in the second Test blocking their way to number one position, losing 8 wickets to win the series 1-0. They faced off against neighbours Zimbabwe in a one-off Test and won the match comfortably by 9 wickets. The Proteas then completed a 2-0 clean sweep of the West Indies at home towards the end of 2014. It was another successful year for them in Tests as they won 4 of the 6 matches and retained the no.1 spot for the third year in a row. 15. Australia – 2015/16: (Matches 15, Won 10, Lost 3, Drawn 2) Australian cricket captain Steven Smith (L) receives the ICC Test Championship mace from ICC Chief Executive David Richardson. (Photo by LAKRUWAN WANNIARACHCHI/AFP/Getty Images) Australia regained the Mace after 6 long years under the captaincy of Steven Smith. Ever since he has been in command of the Aussie line-up, he has become an even better batsman. Smith scored 199 under tough circumstances and 54* in the second Test of the West Indies tour in 2015 to help Australia clinch the series 2-0. Against the fire-breathing Johnson, who gave nightmares to the English batsmen in 2013/14 Ashes, nobody gave England a chance but against all odds, the hosts managed to defeat the Kangaroos 3-2 and regained the Ashes. But Australia bounced back strongly with consecutive 2-0 victories over New Zealand first at home and then away which helped them secure the number one spot for the calendar year 2015/16. 16. India – 2016/17 (Matches 13, Won 10, Lost 1, Drawn 2) Virat Kohli with the Test mace. (Photo Source: Twitter) Team India played an extended home season in 2016-17, they invited almost all the major teams in the subcontinent, dished out typical Indian spinning tracks and the visitors had no answers. New Zealand were the first, Kane Williamson & Co. were incompetent against the Indian spin-twin Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja. They lost the series 3-0. England had prepared better, they had a much better Test side but the result was again the same. None from Alastair Cook to Joe Root could ensure their team a single win. Ben Stokes though was the odd man out putting up an all-round show but they still lost the series 4-0. Bangladesh flew in for a one-match series and it was the first time they were playing a Test in India, predictably Virat Kohli & Co. won the match. Australia was the last team to visit India in the previous season, and they proved to be the most competitive. They spent a lot of time in the UAE, preparing and was clearly visible with the way they played the Pune Test, Steve Smith & Co. beat them in the first match but India made a remarkable comeback to win the series 2-1. Thus they concluded the. 13-Test run with 10 wins and just one loss. 17. India – 2017/18 (Matches 9, Won 5, Lost 2, Drawn 2) India continued their rich run of form in 2017-18 as well. Though they didn’t play as many matches the points they had accumulated in the previous season came to their aid. Virat Kohli and his men travelled to Sri Lanka for a three-match series and the No.1 team rout the hosts 3-0 in an authoritative show against the Islanders. The same team came back to visit them at home and it was a much better show. Dinesh Chandimal’s team were up for it this time. They didn’t let the hosts dictate terms and though they lost a match and the series the highlight was the two Tests that they drew. India was expected to win the series 3-0 but the final outcome was 1-0. The last series for India in this season was on the tour of South Africa. It was expected to be the real Test of their class and they were tested. They were very close in the first match but lost out the crunch moments, similar was the case in the 2nd Test but South Africa closed on the notes that mattered and took the series 2-0. In the third Test, India once again showed their real character and defeated the hosts to end the series 2-1, thus they also managed to end as the No.1 team as on the cutoff date. Season Winner Matches Won Lost Drawn 2001-02 Australia 14 9 2 3 2002-03 Australia 8 7 1 0 2003-04 Australia 15 11 2 2 2004-05 Australia 12 10 1 1 2005-06 Australia 17 12 2 3 2006-07 Australia 7 7 0 0 2007-08 Australia 6 4 1 1 2008-09 Australia 12 5 5 2 2009-10 India 7 5 1 1 2010-11 India 11 5 2 4 2011-12 England 12 9 1 2 2012-13 South Africa 11 8 0 3 2013-14 South Africa 7 3 3 1 2014-15 South Africa 6 4 0 2 2015-16 Australia 15 10 3 2 2016-17 India 13 10 1 2 2017-18 India 9 5 2 2

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ICC Test Championship winners over the years

The ICC awards Test mace to the champion team that tops the ranking as on the cutoff date.

7. Australia – 2007/08: (Matches 6, Won 4, Lost 1, Drawn 1)

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