Australia is by far the most successful cricket team in the history of the sport. They are the pioneers of cricket in a way, given that the Australian national team has featured in the first international match played in each of the formats (Tests, ODIs, and T20Is).
Apart from that, they have accomplished just about everything as a team, winning the World Cup in both formats (ODIs and T20Is), the Champions Trophy, and now the recent World Test Championship triumph has completed their trophy cabinet. Not to mention their participation in one of the most revered cricketing events in cricket, the Ashes, alongside England.
This article is all about ODI cricket since this is the season, given the fact that the ICC ODI World Cup is approaching in a couple of months’ time.
Australia is arguably the best team in this format of the game, not just because they have won the most coveted tournament in the format, the World Cup, a record 5 times, but for their sheer dominance en route to that. No other side in ODI history has won more than 2 World Cups, and they have won the most games, 594 out of the 978 ODIs they have played since 1971.
Their winning percentage is a staggering 60.73, which is only bested by South Africa’s 61.00, but we have to note that the former has played 324 fewer games than Australia. With 69 wins, they stand at the top with the most matches won in Cricket World Cups.
This is, however, not possible without the contributions of the star-studded cricketers they had over the years, and many of them are entitled to be called the legends of the game.
Here we will dwell into the details of which Australian batters have struck the most number of centuries in the ODI format.
Most Centuries for Australia in ODI Cricket
| Player | Innings | 100s | Highest Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ricky Ponting | 364 | 29 | 164 |
| David Warner | 159 | 22 | 179 |
| Mark Waugh | 236 | 18 | 173 |
| Aaron Finch | 142 | 17 | 153* |
| Adam Gilchrist | 278 | 16 | 172 |
| Steve Smith | 148 | 12 | 164 |
| Matthew Hayden | 154 | 10 | 181* |
| Geoff Marsh | 115 | 9 | 126* |
| Shane Watson | 169 | 9 | 185* |
| Michael Clarke | 223 | 8 | 130 |
Key insights from the above stats
At first glance, we can see that Aussie batters have not hit a truckload of centuries, unlike Indian batsmen, but it is quite understandable as the team had match-winners at every position and each stood for the team as and when needed.
7: The number of Australian batsmen who have scored 10 or more centuries in ODI cricket. Geoff Marsh, Shane Watson, and Michael Clarke are the ones on the list who didn’t score more than 10 tons in ODIs.
29: The number of centuries smashed by former Australia captain Ricky Ponting in ODI Cricket. This is the most by any Australian batsman in the format and the joint third-most in history, along with India’s Rohit Sharma, who also has 30 ODI tons to his credit. The players ahead of him are both Indians, namely Sachin Tendulkar, who has 49 centuries in ODIs, and just behind him is Virat Kohli, who has 46 to his name.
As things stand at present, ODI cricket is sparsely played compared to the earlier era when Ricky Ponting was still an active ODI player. So the current crop of players beating the legend’s tally of 30 ODI centuries seems rather bleak at this point in time.
30: Punter, as he is fondly called, has made 30 ODI centuries in his career. While 29 came when he was playing for Australia, the other one came the only time he represented the ICC XI.
5: Number of ODI World Cup centuries hit by the great Ponting in his illustrious career. He represented Australia in 5 World events, winning 3 of them, of which he was captain for 2 World Cups. One of 5 centuries includes a stunning 140* against India in the final of the 2003 World Cup.
149: Adam Gilchrist’s score in the 2007 ICC World Cup final, and this remains the highest score by any player in a World Cup Final. Gilchrist has hit 16 centuries in his ODI career and is arguably the greatest wicket-keeper batsman of all time in cricket.
1: Ricky Ponting, with a whopping 13589 runs in ODI cricket at a sensational average of 41.81 in 364 innings, stands tall as the highest run-getter for Australia in the format. With 13704 runs in his kitty in ODI cricket overall (he played an inning for the ICC XI), Ponting stands 3rd in the all-time ODI batting charts.
25: Ricky Ponting has hit 25 ODI centuries in a winning cause, which is more than the 2nd best’s tally of ODI centuries. Such had been the dominance of this masterful batsman in this format of the game.
17: Out of the 30 centuries, 17 of them came away from home, again the most by any Australian batter in history. He stands 7th overall in the number of ODI centuries hit away from home.
19: ODI centuries hit by the Australian opener David Warner in the format. He has hit that many tons in 140 innings at an average of 45 which is quite outstanding and Warner has an opportunity to move up the ladder in the coming months, especially with the World Cup approaching.
185*: This is the highest score in an ODI by an Australian batter in the formats’ history and the proud owner of this record is the former all-rounder Shane Watson. The star opener made this score against Bangladesh in their own backyard, and to date, it still remains the highest ever by an Aussie batter. He dethroned the former opener Matthew Hayden’s tally of 181 that he hit against New Zealand in 2007.
2: There are 2 World Cup-winning captains of Australia who feature in this elite list. They are Ricky Ponting and Michael Clarke. While the former did in 2003 and 2007, Clarke successfully led the Aussies to their third title in 2015.
5: Out of the 12 ODI centuries, 5 of Steve Smith’s tons have come against the Indian team, by far his most successful and favourite opposition in the format. Ricky Ponting tops the list with 5 ODI centuries against India.
Read Next: Top 10: Most Centuries in Cricket across All Formats
