Most Successful Captain in Test Cricket (1000+)

Graeme Smith of South Africa tops the list of most successful captains in test cricket. In 193 innings he scored 8659 runs at an average of 47.84 including 25 centuries and 36 half-centuries with 277 being the highest score. He is followed by Australian legend Alan Border. In 154 innings he scored 6623 runs at an average of 50.95 including 15 centuries and 36 half-centuries with 205 being the highest score. Ricky Ponting of Australia is ranked 3rd on the list of most successful captain in test cricket (min 1000runs). In 140 innings he scored 6542 runs at an average of 51.51 including 19 centuries and 35 half-centuries with 209 being the highest score.

In the history of test cricket only 7 players have scored more than 5000 runs as a captain. These players come from countries like – Australia, India, England, South Africa, West indies & New Zealand.

Australia is the only country to have 2 players or captains who have scored more than 5000 test runs as a captain. The names of these players are Alan Border (6623 runs) and Ricky Ponting (6542 runs). Rest countries have 1 player each to feature in the list for 5000+ runs as a captain. From India – Virat Kohli (5864 runs), England – Joe Root, South Africa – Graeme Smith (8659 runs), West Indies – Clive Lloyd (5233 runs) & from New Zealand – Stephen Fleming (5156 runs).

Player	Country	Matches	Innings	Runs	Highest Score	100s	50s	Average
Greame Smith	South Africa	109	193	8659	277	25	36	47.84
Alan Border	Australia	93	154	6623	205	15	36	50.95
Ricky Ponting	Australia	77	140	6542	209	19	35	51.51
Virat Kohli	India	68	113	5864	254*	20	18	54.8
Joe Root	England	64	118	5295	228	14	26	46.45
Clive Lloyd	West Indies	74	111	5233	242*	14	27	51.3
Stephen Fleming	New Zealand	80	135	5156	274*	8	31	40.6
Alaister Cook	England	59	111	4844	263	12	24	46.58
Brian Lara	West Indies	47	85	4685	400*	14	19	57.84
Misbah-ul-Haq	Pakistan	56	99	4214	135	8	35	51.39
Greg Chappell	Australia	48	86	4209	235	13	19	55.38
Michael Clarke	Australia	47	86	3946	329*	14	7	51.92
Steven Smith	Australia	38	67	3867	239	15	14	66.67
Mike Atherton	England	54	98	3815	185*	8	22	40.59
Steve Waugh	Australia	57	83	3714	199	15	10	52.31
Mahela Jayawardene	Sri Lanka	38	66	3665	374	14	10	59.11
Bob Simpson	Australia	39	71	3623	311	10	16	54.07
Graham Gooch	England	34	63	3582	333	11	16	58.72
Sir Garry Sobers	West Indies	39	71	3528	178*	11	15	58.8
M S Dhoni	India	60	96	3454	224	5	24	40.64
Sunil Gavaskar	India	47	74	3449	205	11	14	50.72
Andrew Strauss	England	50	85	3343	169	9	14	40.77
Kane Williamson	New Zealand	40	65	3331	251	11	14	57.43
Mark Taylor	Australia	50	89	3250	334*	7	16	39.63
Michael Vaughan	England	51	94	3170	166	9	13	36.02
Don Bradman	Australia	24	38	3147	270	14	7	101.52
Arjuna Ranatunga	Sri Lanka	56	92	3118	131	2	22	36.26
Peter May	England	41	65	3080	285*	10	15	54.04
Vivian Richards	West Indies	50	74	3068	146	6	23	45.12
Mohammad Azharuddin	India	47	68	2856	192	9	9	43.94

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