Cricket
Top 10 Greatest Cricket Captains of All Time
A hotly-contested topic, deciding on the best captains in cricket can be quite subjective. Do we base it on popularity, longevity, or purely tactical skill? Above all else, the best captain in cricket history will be extremely versatile, excelling across all formats of the game. They will have consistently delivered silverware, including World Cups and ICC trophies. At SportsBoom, we have sifted the fact from the fiction. We have used key performance metrics to answer the ultimate question — who is the best captain in cricket history?
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Best Cricket Captains in the World
We have cross-referenced several reliable sources, including HowStat and ESPNcricinfo to deliver our findings.
The following table features the top 10 world’s best captains in cricket history, taking into account win rates as skippers as well as trophies lifted.
Among the players that feature, include the most successful captains for India in Test cricket.
Best Cricket Captains in the World
| Player | Span | Matches | Won | Lost | Win % | ICC Trophies |
| RT Ponting (AUS/ICC) | 2002-2012 | 324 | 220 | 77 | 67.9 | 4 |
| SR Waugh (AUS) | 1997-2004 | 163 | 108 | 44 | 66.25 | 1 |
| WJ Cronje (SA) | 1994-2000 | 191 | 126 | 46 | 65.96 | 1 |
| V Kohli (IND) | 2013-2022 | 213 | 135 | 60 | 63.38 | 0 |
| CH Lloyd (WI) | 1974-1985 | 158 | 100 | 30 | 63.29 | 2 |
| IVA Richards (WI) | 1980-1991 | 155 | 94 | 44 | 60.64 | 0 |
| EJG Morgan (ENG) | 2011-2022 | 198 | 118 | 67 | 59.59 | 1 |
| GC Smith (AFR/ICC/SA) | 2003-2014 | 286 | 163 | 89 | 56.99 | 0 |
| DPMD Jayawardene (ASIA/SL) | 2004-2013 | 186 | 101 | 67 | 54.3 | 0 |
| MS Dhoni (IND) | 2007-2018 | 332 | 178 | 120 | 53.61 | 3 |
Methodology for the World’s Best Captains in Cricket
To consolidate our research on the best captains in cricket history, we devised our own unique scoring system known as the SportsBoom meta scale which is a carefully weighted model.
This is based on key factors such as wins accrued, matches skippered, and ICC trophies lifted. We have used similar criteria for many of our other cricket guides, such as the best cricket team in the world.
For the purposes of this piece, we have pinpointed specific criteria, whereby 30% of the score is weighted on the win percentage of players as captains while the remaining 70% is calculated on ICC trophies claimed to ensure a fair and balanced evaluation for creating this table.
World’s Best Captains in Cricket
| Player | Score |
| RT Ponting (AUS/ICC) | 23.17 |
| SR Waugh (AUS) | 20.575 |
| WJ Cronje (SA) | 20.488 |
| CH Lloyd (WI) | 20.387 |
| V Kohli (IND) | 19.014 |
| EJG Morgan (ENG) | 18.577 |
| IVA Richards (WI) | 18.192 |
| MS Dhoni (IND) | 18.183 |
| GC Smith (AFR/ICC/SA) | 17.097 |
| DPMD Jayawardene (ASIA/SL) | 16.29 |
Profiling some of the Top Captains in Cricket History
While some of the players on this list are in the conversation for the best cricket captain in India, we have profiled the top three in the table.
1. Ricky Ponting – 220 wins from 324 matches as captain
He may have inherited a star-studded team, but Ricky Ponting always led from the front. Three consecutive World Cup triumphs (1999-2007) underlined Australia’s dominance and back-to-back ICC Champions Trophy wins in 2006 and 2009 was a measure of the side he skippered.
Under Ponting, Australia were almost unstoppable, and that was partly due to a superb batting line-up consisting of Matthew Hayden and Adam Gilchrist, while Shane Warne was the spin wizard.
2. Steve Waugh – 108 wins from 163 matches as captain
Steve Waugh thrived in the heat of battle. He moulded and polished players to make them world-beaters for years to come. Not only that, but under his leadership, Australia became the best test team to wager on.
He steered Australia to 41 Test wins from 57 matches, and he was one of those captains that could transform a game that seemed lost into victory.
3. WJ Cronje – 126 wins from 191 matches
Hansie Cronje merits inclusion in the list of the best cricket captains in the world, skippering his side in 53 Tests and 138 ODIs between 1994 and 2000. His dedication and hard work paid off and he was a formidable competitor on the field.
Articulate and persuasive, Cronje commanded the respect of his team, and he was 24 when he was made South Africa captain. Although he died in 2002 in a plane crash, his legacy lives on.
SportsBoom Suggest
The best cricket captain in the world will have many assets. Being inspiring, making tough decisions even if it doesn’t make him popular, and winning trophies are part and parcel of the job.
Many of the captains featured will deliver with the bat. For example, Virat Kohli is arguably the best captain in India’s cricket history, and he is a run machine.
However, our analysis shows Ricky Ponting is the best cricket captain in the world as he made Australia a force to be reckoned with and he knew how to handle a team with talent and egos.
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Charles Perrin is a highly experienced sports betting content writer with over six years of working with some of the leading sportsbooks in the UK, including bet365 and William Hill.