Captain's Corner: Rating the last 5 Australian skippers

#1 Mark Taylor – 5/10

Mark Taylor had a style of captaincy quite different from the Australian way

A cheerful Australian captain was unheard of in cricket. But that is just what Mark Taylor was. He succeeded Allan Border and brought a refreshing charm to Australian cricket with his adventurous style of captaincy.

He, it is said, started Australia's dominance in Test cricket in the late 1990s. Although not a tactical genius, his style of captaincy whilst different was also effective.

Stats: Taylor did not have the best of stats for an Australian skipper. He had 26 wins from 50 Tests with a W/L ratio of 2.0. In ODIs, a format he could never quite decode, he won 36 of the 67 matches at the helm.

High point: He started the 1997 Ashes tour with controversy surrounding his place in the side. Australia lost the first two games of the series. However, he had silenced all with a brilliant hundred in a losing cause. He led admirably to help Aussies win the next three Tests and retain the Ashes curtesy of a memorable 3-2 win.

Low point: Several times during his career, Taylor was angry at himself for his form in ODI cricket. He dropped himself in the midst of series a few times because he wasn't contributing with the bat. His ODI captaincy wasn't up to the mark and it remained a low point right through his career.

Taylor never got a hang of ODI cricket and kept dropping himself

Verdict: Taylor may not be the most gifted Australian player or captain. But his habit of taking things in its stride and fostering a good team culture needs appreciation.

After all, Taylor groomed the players that would go on to create Australia's golden era in the early 20th century. The likes of Shane Warne, Ricky Ponting and Glenn McGrath debuted under him.