Between October 1999 and March 2001, Australia won 16 consecutive Test matches — a record that has never been equalled in Test cricket history, representing the most dominant period of Test cricket ever seen by a single team.
Steve Waugh's Australia of the early 2000s had Shane Warne, Glenn McGrath, Justin Langer, Matthew Hayden, Ricky Ponting, Steve Waugh, Adam Gilchrist, Jason Gillespie, Brett Lee, and Damien Martyn — arguably the most complete Test XI ever assembled. Their dominant run began in October 1999.
Australia won the 1999 World Cup, then embarked on a Test campaign that swept everything before them. Their victories came against Pakistan, New Zealand, West Indies, Zimbabwe, India, and England — no opponent found an answer.
The 16-match winning sequence ran from October 1999 through March 2001. It included: - A 3-0 win in Pakistan (the first Australian Test series win in Pakistan in 39 years) - A 5-0 Ashes whitewash of England in Australia - A 3-0 win over West Indies - Dominant series wins over New Zealand and Zimbabwe
The streak was ended by Laxman, Dravid, and Harbhajan Singh at Eden Gardens in March 2001 — when India, following on 274 runs behind, won by 171 runs. That India win — already covered — is the other side of this achievement.
The Australian side had McGrath and Warne as the world's best bowler in their respective disciplines simultaneously. Hayden and Langer were the most reliable opening pair in Tests. Gilchrist had transformed the wicketkeeper-batsman role. Waugh's captaincy was precise and ruthless.
Win 1: October 1999, vs Pakistan in Rawalpindi — the sequence begins
The 5-0 Ashes whitewash of England — 5 of the 16 wins in a single series
Win 16 ended at Eden Gardens — Laxman 281 stops the streak
October 1999
Win 1 — Australia vs Pakistan, Rawalpindi
Late 2000
Ashes series in Australia — 5 of the 16 wins
February-March 2001
India series — wins 14 and 15 in Mumbai
March 2001
Eden Gardens — India follow-on and win, streak ended at 16
Australia continued to dominate Test cricket through 2006-07. They won four World Cups and held the world's top Test ranking for most of the decade. The 16-match winning streak was never approached again — the next best streak is South Africa's 7 consecutive wins.
16 consecutive Test wins across 18 months against 6 different nations is the most complete team performance in Test cricket history. The Australian side of 1999-2001 were the greatest Test team ever assembled.
Australia vs West Indies
1960-12-14
The first tied Test in 86 years of cricket history — Australia and West Indies finished level on 737 runs each after five days of breathless cricket in Brisbane, producing one of the most dramatic finishes the game has ever seen.
India vs Australia
1986-09-22
Twenty-six years after Brisbane, cricket produced only its second tied Test — Dean Jones's heroic 210 through crippling heat and Dean Jones's fever, Ravi Shastri's unbeaten 48 and India needing 2 off the last over, only for Maninder Singh to be out lbw off the final ball.
Australia vs South Africa
1999-06-17
Lance Klusener smashed Australia to the brink of elimination, then ran out Allan Donald off the penultimate ball to tie the match — but Australia advanced to the final on superior run rate, ending South Africa's greatest World Cup campaign in devastating fashion.