Who are the champions?

Which is cricket's greatest team? Don Bradman's Invincibles, Clive Lloyd's West Indies or Steve Waugh's Australia?. This debate has been worn thin over the years and this week The List gives it a different spin by looking at players who have played in the most Test wins.

Waugh, who also featured among players involved in the most Test losses, has played in a massive 86 Test wins, 11 clear of Shane Warne. That Waugh and seven of his key players populate the top twenty - not including Mark Waugh and Michael Slater, who did not play majority of their careers under him - is the first step in the argument for Waugh's side being the best. Only four of Clive Lloyd's West Indians - Viv Richards, Gordon Greenidge, Desmond Haynes and Jeff Dujon - feature in the list. You might argue that the Invincibles did not play enough. A sound argument indeed.

Most Tests won

Player	Span	Mat	Won	Lost	Runs	Ave	Wkts	Ave
SR Waugh (Aust)	1985-2004	168	86	36	6460	69.46	31	29.25
SK Warne (Aust)	1992-2005	129	77	26	1484	17.45	437	21.48
GD McGrath (Aust)	1993-2005	113	74	20	385	7.70	373	18.58
ME Waugh (Aust)	1991-2002	128	72	27	4794	48.91	23	47.52
IVA Richards (WI)	1974-1991	121	63	19	4300	52.43	9	63.11
RT Ponting (Aust)	1995-2005	94	63	15	5074	61.13	2	58.50
DL Haynes (WI)	1978-1994	116	60	15	4041	45.92	0	-
JL Langer (Aust)	1993-2005	94	60	17	4640	49.89	0	-
CG Greenidge (WI)	1974-1991	108	57	14	4653	54.74	0	-
IA Healy (Aust)	1988-1999	119	55	29	2135	33.35	0	-
AC Gilchrist (Aust)	1999-2005	74	54	10	3624	63.57	0	-
CA Walsh (WI)	1984-2001	132	52	43	345	8.21	239	19.72
MA Taylor (Aust)	1989-1999	104	52	20	3812	45.92	0	-
AR Border (Aust)	1978-1994	156	50	46	3186	51.38	18	21.11
ML Hayden (Aust)	1994-2005	73	49	14	4160	56.98	0	-
G Kirsten (SAf)	1993-2004	101	48	23	3800	51.35	1	18.00
JN Gillespie (Aust)	1996-2005	69	45	15	567	17.18	189	22.12
PJL Dujon (WI)	1981-1991	81	44	12	1758	33.80	0	-
CEL Ambrose (WI)	1988-2000	98	44	26	588	12.51	229	16.86
MJ Slater (Aust)	1993-2001	74	44	17	3508	51.58	0	-

This brings us to the players with the highest percentage of wins over their career. While almost the whole of Waugh's team appears in the top 20, there are only three of Bradman's Invincibles - Lindsay Hassett, Bill Johnston and Ian Johnson - and none of Lloyd's men. And for the record, Australia under Waugh won a whopping 71.9% of their Tests while the figures for Lloyd's West Indies and Bradman's Australia are 48.6% and 62.5%. Perhaps the opposition has weakened over the decades. Rashid Latif was a surprise entry as high as No. 5, but even though he was in and out of the Pakistan side later in his career, he played a large number of his Tests during their outstanding run after winning the 1992 World Cup.

Highest percentage of Tests won (qualification: 25 career Tests)

Player	Span	Mat	Won	Lost	Draw	% won
DS Lehmann (Aust)	1998-2004	27	22	2	3	81.48
AC Gilchrist (Aust)	1999-2005	74	54	10	10	72.97
B Lee (Aust)	1999-2005	43	31	6	6	72.09
RA Harper (WI)	1983-1993	25	17	2	6	68.00
Rashid Latif (Pak)	1992-2003	37	25	8	4	67.57
ML Hayden (Aust)	1994-2005	73	49	14	10	67.12
RT Ponting (Aust)	1995-2005	94	63	15	16	67.02
GD McGrath (Aust)	1993-2005	113	74	20	19	65.49
JN Gillespie (Aust)	1996-2005	69	45	15	9	65.22
SCG MacGill (Aust)	1998-2005	34	22	6	6	64.71
JL Langer (Aust)	1993-2005	94	60	17	17	63.83
TT Samaraweera (SL)	2001-2005	30	19	5	6	63.33
WA Johnston (Aust)	1947-1955	40	25	8	7	62.50
DR Martyn (Aust)	1992-2005	61	38	10	13	62.30
IWG Johnson (Aust)	1946-1956	45	28	7	10	62.22
C Kelleway (Aust)	1910-1928	26	16	7	3	61.54
SJ Harmison (Eng/ICC)	2002-2005	36	22	7	7	61.11
H Carter (Aust)	1907-1921	28	17	7	4	60.71
AL Hassett (Aust)	1938-1953	43	26	5	12	60.47
SK Warne (Aust)	1992-2005	129	77	26	26	59.69

Looking at the best batsmen in Test wins, Bradman is peerless with a mind-boggling average of 130.08 (he averages a comparatively paltry 43.27 in lost Tests). Inzamam-ul-Haq (80.83) and Rahul Dravid (79.51) have fantastic averages in Tests their teams have won: an indicator of how crucial their form was to the fortune of the team. It's quite revealing that Sachin Tendulkar, who made his Test debut seven years before Dravid, has played in just eight more Test wins than Dravid's 30. Significantly, none of the batsmen in Waugh's team feature in the top ten - Australia did not depend primarily on the form of a particular player.

Best batting averages in won Tests (qualification: minimum 20 innings)

Player	Span	Mat	Inns	Runs	HS	Ave	100
DG Bradman (Aust)	1929-1948	30	43	4813	299*	130.08	23
Inzamam-ul-Haq (Pak)	1992-2005	43	67	4284	329	80.83	17
R Dravid (India)	1996-2005	30	47	3101	270	79.51	9
KC Sangakkara (SL)	2000-2005	22	29	2017	270	77.57	7
GS Sobers (WI)	1956-1974	31	46	3097	365*	77.42	12
Younis Khan (Pak)	2000-2005	16	27	1788	267	74.50	7
FMM Worrell (WI)	1948-1963	18	26	1483	261	74.15	3
GC Smith (SAf)	2002-2005	20	29	1896	259	72.92	9
GS Chappell (Aust)	1972-1984	38	62	3595	204	70.49	14
WR Hammond (Eng)	1927-1946	29	44	2584	251	69.83	10