Captains with highest win percentage in men’s Test

Great teams are often built by a strong leader, who makes the most of his resources and brings out the best in his players. Be it the change in batting order, field positioning or bowling, it is on the field that the onus is on the skipper to make significant efforts to get his side ahead. An efficient captain makes these adjustments at the right time which yields rich dividends. The longest format of the game, Test cricket, pushes every player to their limit and it is the skipper who needs to pay utmost attention to every detail in the game. Only a handful of skippers have led their side to obtain wins on a consistent basis. In this piece we take a look at the top three captains with highest win percentage in Test cricket:

3. Ricky Ponting(Australia) – 62.3 per cent

Arguably one of the greatest skippers of all-time, Ricky Ponting unsurprisingly makes it to list of highest win percentage. Having led the side in 77 games, he has obtained an impressive 48 wins in the red-ball format of the sport. Additionally, he is the only skipper among the three to have led the side in over 70 matches.

2. Don Bradman (Australia) – 62.5 per cent

Sir Donald Bradman, an absolute legend of the sport, led the national team in 24 matches during his stint as a professional cricketer. He aggregated 15 wins, with a percentage of 62.5 which is slightly higher than Ponting’s 62.3.

1. Steve Waugh (Australia) – 71.9 per cent

Topping the chart is Steve Waugh, who has recorded the most wins as a skipper and has a significantly higher win percentage. Having captained the side in 57 matches, Waugh won on 41 occasions and has the highest win percentage in Test cricket at 71.9 per cent. While it is quite tricky to surpass this record, it remains to be seen who among the newer set of players is able to eclipse this win record as skipper.