The oldest and most legendary rivalry in cricket history resides between the Australian Men’s cricket team and the England cricket team. It all began in 1877 when both teams played their first test series, the rivalry has been forged through blood and sacrifice. In every encounter between the teams, the players have fought with pride and passion on the field. There have been wonderful highs, which would have raised goosebumps, to thrilling closeness and pure brilliance in executing the game of cricket. The Australians have been the unrivalled leaders in the ODI and Test series formats, but are bumping along at an even keel in the T20I formats. Cricket rivalry is not just about who wins the matches, but also about who emerges victorious when the pride and legacy of the game and the teams themselves are at stake, driven by deep passion. The Australian Men’s cricket team vs. England Cricket team timeline shows how two incredible cricketing giants have a superb history of exciting, thrilling matches that surely form the Anglo-Australian rivalry as one of the biggest and best clashes in cricket history.

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1876-1899: Early Encounters

1876-1877 Australia vs England- The first test match took place at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, Melbourne on 15th March 1877. Charles Bannerman scored 165, which guided Australia to victory in the first test match between the two teams by 45 runs. England bounced back to win the 2nd match of the series on the strength of powerful bowlers, winning that test match by 4 wickets.
1888 England vs Australia- In the three-match test series, Australia lost to England by a score of 2-1. There were amazing bowlers on display in this series, but none better than John Briggs and Robert Peel, whose skillful bowling and manipulation of the pitches feared the batters. Australia won the 1st Test at Lord’s, but after that, there was little room for Australia as England were victorious in the next two matches at the Oval and Old Trafford.
1899 England vs Australia- The test series in the UK consists of 5 matches. Australia won the series by a score of 1-0, although 4 matches ended in a draw. From the outset of this series, Australia played with resilience, led by Captain Joseph Darling, but typically on looking back at this type of match, performances from individual players became impressive; Ernest Jones’ aggressive bowling, Victor Trumper’s elegance in batting were two standouts. England’s difficulty with batting consistency was a major concern, while Australia’s purpose and discipline shown with its bowling and fielding may have pacified the repetitive and lingering defeats of the series.

1900s- 1948: Test Series Summaries

1901-1902 Australia vs England – With a 4-1 victory over England, Australia dominated the five-match Test series. Reginald Duff, who made a century in the second Test and other impressive runs, gave Australia a potent batting lineup. Australia had a strong bowling performance from Montague Noble, but England once again lacked bat and ball skills.
1912 England vs Australia- In the 1912 Triangular Series, England and Australia played low-scoring matches in weather-affected conditions. England dominated the series, winning 1 out of the 3 matches. Sydney Barnes and Frank Woolley were good team bowlers, while key runs were made by Jack Hobbs. It was clear throughout the series that Australia was the struggling team. England was the superior team and demonstrated this with form and team consistency, meaning overall they were dominant in the series and managed to win the tournament on home soil.
1948 England vs Australia- In 1948, Australia, led by Don Bradman, won their series vs England 4-0 (one match drawn). Bradman scored 138 runs in the first innings of the series’ opening test, which he won by 8 wickets. Arthur Morris and Ray Lindwall were other star performers.

1950s- 1975: The Era of Australian Dominance

1950-1951 Australia vs England- England lost to Australia 4-1 in the five-match series. Australia started strongly and won the first four Tests, featuring several outstanding performances from their fast bowlers Ray Lindwall and William Johnston, to dominate Australia’s competitors, who were led by Frederick Brown. England’s batting struggled against Australia’s pace bowlers and spinners. The only victory England managed in the series came in the final Test played in Melbourne.
1965-1966 Australia vs England- The series played in Australia resulted in a series ending up a draw at 1-1, in five Tests. England, with Mike Smith as their captain, managed a successful Third Test in Sydney with its batting from Bob Barber and bowling from David Brown, while Australia took the Fourth Test in Melbourne, highlighted by Simpson’s batting and Graham McKenzie’s pace bowling.
1970-1971 Australia v England- During the 1970s, England and Australia played their first One Day International at Melbourne. England got to bat first and set a 191-run target; the Australian team chased this down in 34.6 overs, scoring 191 runs to win the first match by 5 wickets. John Edrich was awarded the Player of the Match award for his outstanding batting.
1974-1975 Australia vs England- The six-match series saw another dominating Australian performance for a 4–1 series victory against England in six Tests. England was dominated by Australia’s fast bowling duo of Dennis Lillee and Jeff Thomson, who were feared by all the opposing batsmen, while England suffered an injury toll on its players and a lack of form. Australia’s batting was led by Ian and Greg.

1977- 1999: Battle of ODIs

1977 England vs Australia – The 3 match one-day international series was won by England 2-1. The first match was won by England, who were steady with the bat, and in the second match, they demolished Australia with the ball. Dennis Amiss’s century in the third match was extensive, but Greg Chappell’s heroics with a score of 125 saw Australia narrowly win the match.
1979-1980 Australia vs England – Australia had a total domination over England in the 3 match test series, winning 3 – 0. This test series is also known for the “aluminium bat incident” involving Dennis Lillee, who came to bat with a metal bat. The incident sparked a change to cricket bat regulations. Allan Border became the quickest Australian to reach 1,000 Test runs during the first test of the series with a century. In the second Test, for Australia, Greg Chappell carried his bat for 98 not out, showing the ability to remain resilient as a batsman. The third Test saw the Australian team win the game by 8 wickets and knock off the series comprehensively 3 – 0.
1984-1985 Rothmans Four-Nations Cup – During the 1984-85 Rothmans Four-Nations Cup, Australia won a very close game against England by 2 wickets at Sharjah. England had scored 177/8 during the match, with Tim Robinson scoring the most runs for England with a high score of 37. Australia successfully chased the target down with only one ball to spare thanks to the outstanding all-rounder Greg Matthews, who scored 24 runs and bowled 10 overs with a bowling stat of 1/15. Matthews was therefore named Player of the Match because of his decisive all-round impact on the tight game.

1987-1988 Reliance World Cup- Eden Gardens served as the venue for the 1987 Reliance World Cup match between Australia and England. Australia won the game by 7 runs. Australia had scored 254, and David Boon, who was awarded the Player of the Match, hit 75 runs. England faltered with the bat, despite Bill Athey scoring 58 and Allan Lamb chipping in with 45; however, they kept losing wickets at crucial points.
1998-1999 Australia vs England- Australia overcame England 3–1 in the 1998-1999 series. Australia’s Stuart MacGill was the star with the ball. Dean Headley of England got 6 wickets for 60 in Melbourne, resulting in a victory by 12 runs in the 4th test. Michael Slater was the feature opening batsman for Australia, with three centuries, including vital contributions from aggressive partnerships.

2000s-2010: The Prime of Aussies

2001 Natwest series- Australia smashed England in the 2001 Natwest series by 125 runs in Manchester. Australia had scored 208/7 in 48 overs, and England, who were chasing a revised total of 212, collapsed to 86 all out. Jason Gillespie took 3 wickets and Shane Warne took 2 wickets in England’s paltry total. This match showed Australia’s depth and England’s ongoing struggles.
2005 England v Australia- The first T20 International between England and Australia was on 13 June 2005. England won the toss, decided to bat, and after 20 overs, scored 179/8. The top scorers for England were Paul Collingwood (46) and Marcus Trescothick (41). Australia had a very poor chase, getting bowled out for just 79 runs after just 14.3 overs, losing by 100 runs.
2006-2007 Australia v England- Australia whitewashed England 5–0 in the five-match test series. Ricky Ponting and Stuart Clark were a nightmare for England during the series. The series saw some great individual performances, such as Andrew Symonds’ 156 and Matthew Hayden’s 153. Australia were dominant within the series and finished with a 10-wicket win in the last Test at Sydney.
2007 ICC World Cup- Australia beat England by 7 wickets during the 2007 ICC World Cup on 8 April 2007. England batted first and scored 247 all out in just 49.5 overs, Kevin Pietersen making a brilliant 104 runs. Australia chased down the score very easily, scoring 248/3 in 47.2 overs. With 86 runs, Ricky Ponting spearheaded the chase, while Michael Clarke provided strong support with an undefeated 55. Because of his three wickets, Shaun Tait was named Player of the Match.
2010 ICC World Twenty20- In the final of the 2010 T20 World Cup, England won their first ever ICC Trophy against Australia by winning the game by 7 wickets. With explosive bowling from Ryan Sidebottom and Graeme Swann, Australia made a decent total of 147/6. England chased down their target with 18 balls to spare, with Craig Kieswetter smashing 63 and Kevin Pietersen with 47. Paul Collingwood hit the winning runs to claim victory, and Kieswetter was named Player of the Match.

2011-Present: England Restored Balance in Rivalry

2010-2011 Australia vs England- In the home and away two-match T20I series against Australia in England, both teams won one apiece and finished the series at 1–1. In the first match at Adelaide, England chased down a total of 158 with an edge of 1 wicket to win 159/9, with Eoin Morgan making a valuable 43 runs, while Shane Watson top scored for Australia, making 59 runs and taking two wickets. In the second match at Melbourne, Aaron Finch’s 53 runs helped Australia to score 147/7, winning narrowly by 4 runs, with Mitchell Johnson claiming three wickets.
2013 ICC Champions Trophy- At Birmingham, England defeated Australia by a margin of 48 runs. England made a total of 269/6 and innings of Ian Bell with 91 runs. In their reply, Australia scored early wickets and only made 221/9 in the 50 overs. James Faulkner made a late run, scoring 54 runs to keep the match alive. James Anderson took 3 wickets, and Clint McKay took 2 wickets for Australia, which was the highlight of the game.
2021-2022 Australia vs England- The 2021-2022 Australia vs. England test series saw Australia record a thumping win over England by a margin of 4-0. Travis Head was the standout player, scoring an incredible 152 runs in the 1st Test and going on to win Player of the Series. Australia’s bowling spearheaded by Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, and Nathan Lyon, the trio had an incredible series, breaking down England’s batting order consistently. England’s Joe Root was the highest run-scorer for England, but couldn’t stop the whitewash of his team.
2024 ICC T20 World Cup- Australia won by 36 runs over England in the 2024 T20I World Cup match at Kensington Oval, Barbados. Australia had made 201/7, David Warner (39 off 16) and Mitchell Marsh (35 off 25) leading the way. England’s chase came unstuck despite Jos Buttler’s 42 and Phil Salt’s 37, going on to finish at 165/6. Adam Zampa with 2/28 and Pat Cummins 2/23 played a crucial role in Australia’s success in the game.
2024-2025 ICC Champions Trophy- Australia made history in this match, defeating England, chasing down a total of a whopping 352 runs with 15 balls to spare. Josh Inglis was the main cog in the machine, remaining unbeaten on 120 off 86 balls, this being his first ODI century of Inglis, which allows Australia to chase the highest total in the history Champions Trophy. Beforehand, England scored a mammoth 351/8 due to a record 165 runs from Ben Duckett.

Australian Men’s Cricket Team Vs England Cricket Team Timeline