Highest Average By A Captain in Test Cricket (Minimum 100 Innings)

It is safe to say that Test Cricket is the toughest format of this beautiful game of cricket. It tests a cricketers’ temperament, technique, hunger to win, and will to survive for longer periods of time.

It is also important to understand that captaining a Test team is a lot more difficult than captaining in the other two formats of the game. Test Cricket is played in sessions and the captain of a team is responsible for making the right decisions in every session to stay on top of the game.

Over the years, the game has seen some finest captains in Test Cricket. Interestingly, only a cricketing acumen or leadership skills aren’t the only two requirements for captains to successfully lead a Test side.

The captain has to lead from the front by scoring runs consistently with the bat. Over the years, we have had witnessed some legendary cricketers in Test Cricket. In this article, we take a look at the 5 cricketers with the highest average by a captain, having played a minimum of 100 innings as captain.

Highest Average By A Captain in Test Cricket (Minimum 100 Innings)

Graeme Smith: 47.83

Not a lot of cricketers have managed to leave as much of an impact as Graeme Smith in Test Cricket. Smith was asked to lead the South Africa team at a very young age and South Africa took the opportunity with both hands.

He led the team by example and made it a force to be reckoned with. Graeme Smith went on to lead the side for the most number of matches by any captain in Test Cricket. He captained South Africa’s Test side in 109 matches, of which 53 games resulted in wins.

During his captaincy career, he scored 8659 runs in 193 innings at an average of 47.83. His stellar average of 47.83 is the fifth-best by a captain in Tests, having played a minimum of 100 innings.

Allan Border: 50.95

One of the greatest batsmen ever to play Test Cricket, Allan Border’s name in the list shouldn’t surprise anyone. He left the world in awe with his masterclass batting for a number of years. Border led the Australian Test team for as many as 93 Tests and helped the team win 32 out of them.

Allan Border retired from the game as the leading run-scorer in Tests, a record which was later broken by Brian Lara in 2006. During his captaincy career, he batted in 154 innings and managed to score 6623 runs at an average of 50.95. His batting average of 50.95 is the fourth-best by a captain in Tests, having played a minimum of 100 innings.

Clive Lloyd: 51.30

West Indies’ greatest captain in their cricketing history, Clive Lloyd finds his name at third position in the list. Lloyd captained the daunting West Indies side between 1974 and 1985. He led the side to win the first two editions of the ICC World Cup in 1975 and 1979.

It could have been hat-tricks of wins had they not lost to India in the final of the 1983 World Cup. Lloyd has an exceptional record in Test Cricket as well. He led the team in 74 Tests, winning 36 out of them. During his captaincy career, he scored 5233 runs at an average of 51.30.

Ricky Ponting: 51.51

Regarded as Australia’s most successful captain in the history of cricket, Ricky Ponting finds his name at the number three position. The former Australian cricketer was an outstanding leader as well as a batsman.

His hunger to win matches was unmatchable. He led a team that was termed as invincible. Apart from his leadership skills, he scored heavily with the bat across formats. He is currently the highest run-scorer for Australia and second-highest overall in Test Cricket.

During his captaincy career, he scored 6542 runs in 140 innings at an average of 51.51. His batting average of 51.51 is the second-highest by a captain in Test Cricket with a minimum of 100 innings.

Virat Kohli: 54.80

Virat Kohli stepped down from captaincy in Test Cricket on Saturday and left the cricketing fraternity in shock. Despite losing the Test series in South Africa, the Virat Kohli-led Indian Test team had an outstanding record overall in Test Cricket.

He is, in fact, India’s most successful Test captain in the history of Indian Cricket. Under his leadership, India won 40 Tests out of 68. He also scored a plethora of runs during the period. He batted in 113 innings during his captaincy career and scored 5864 runs at an average of 54.80, which is also the highest average by any captain in Test Cricket, who has played a minimum of 100 innings.

*Stats updated till 177/01/2022.