Top 10 Australian Test openers of all time 

#7 Mark Taylor

Mark Taylor

Mark Taylor had a poor start to his career before turning it around, netting scores of 25, 3, 3 and 36 in his first four innings against West Indies at home in 1989.

However, a stellar Sheffield Shield season helped him earn a place for the 1989 Ashes in England. In a high-octane series, Taylor came into his own where he broke all sorts of records, scoring 839 runs at a staggering average of 83.9 in that series helping Australia regain the urn after 6 years.

Taylor continued his stellar form in the following years and was a permanent member of Australia’s line-up during the 1990s. His slip catching was as reliable as his solid batting. He took 157 catches (most of them in the slips) in his 104-match Test career.

He was also an astute captain. He took over from Allan Border and built on the team Border had formed, leading Australia to 26 Test victories (out of the 50 he led in). In 1998, Taylor became Australia’s highest induvial scorer when he scored a majestic 334 against Pakistan.

The following year (1999), Taylor retired after leading Australia to another Ashes victory at home. Taylor finished with 7525 runs at an average of 43.49 which included 19 hundreds and 40 hald-centuries.