Australia’s Elite Quartet: A Legacy Like No Other
Australia’s legendary bowling unit of Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood and Nathan Lyon is approaching a milestone that could stand among Test cricket’s most remarkable achievements.
Hazlewood is just five wickets away from reaching 300 Test wickets. Once he gets there, Australia could become the first team to field four bowlers in the same Test with at least 300 wickets each. Together, the quartet already have 1,610 Test wickets, underlining their extraordinary longevity and consistency.
Their impact becomes even more impressive when their performances together are examined. The four have played 35 Tests alongside one another and taken 567 wickets. No other quartet comes particularly close, with England’s Moeen Ali, James Anderson, Stuart Broad and Ben Stokes next on the list with 415 wickets.
Australia have also enjoyed tremendous success when their four leading bowlers have shared the field. They have won far more Tests than they have lost, with five of their nine defeats coming against India. Remarkably, Australia have never lost an Ashes Test when Cummins, Starc, Hazlewood and Lyon have all played.
Their first series together, the 2017-18 Ashes, set the tone. All 87 wickets taken by Australia’s bowlers across that five-Test series were shared between the four. Cummins claimed 23, Starc 22, Hazlewood 21 and Lyon 21.
The trio of Cummins, Starc and Hazlewood has also established itself among the most successful pace combinations in Test history. Across 38 Tests together, they have collected 466 wickets, combining speed, accuracy and variety.
Lyon’s contribution is particularly significant. The veteran spinner has been Australia’s first-choice Test spinner for more than a decade and has built his reputation on remarkable durability. He has made 100 consecutive Test appearances, a record for a bowler, and remains one of the leading wicket-takers in Test history.
However, time is becoming an important factor. Cummins is the youngest of the four at 33, while Starc, Hazlewood and Lyon are all moving deeper into the latter stages of their careers. Australia will eventually need to find replacements capable of carrying the same responsibility.
For now, though, the quartet still represents one of the finest bowling combinations of the modern era. Their numbers, longevity and success have already secured their place in Australian cricket history. The challenge for the next generation will be to build something even remotely comparable.