The 1980s
Australia's Record in Test Match Cricket 1980–1989
| Season | Opponent | Venue | Played | Won | Lost | Drawn | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980 | Pakistan | Pakistan | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | Lost |
| 1980 | England | England | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | Drawn |
| 1980–81 | New Zealand | Australia | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | Won |
| 1980–81 | India | Australia | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | Drawn |
| 1981 | England | England | 6 | 1 | 3 | 2 | Lost |
| 1981–82 | Pakistan | Australia | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | Won |
| 1981–82 | West Indies | Australia | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | Drawn |
| 1981–82 | New Zealand | New Zealand | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | Drawn |
| 1982–83 | Pakistan | Pakistan | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | Lost |
| 1982–83 | England | Australia | 5 | 2 | 1 | 2 | Won |
| 1982–83 | Sri Lanka | Sri Lanka | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | Won |
| 1983–84 | Pakistan | Australia | 5 | 2 | 0 | 3 | Won |
| 1983–84 | West Indies | West Indies | 5 | 0 | 3 | 2 | Lost |
| 1984–85 | West Indies | Australia | 5 | 1 | 3 | 1 | Lost |
| 1985 | England | England | 6 | 1 | 3 | 2 | Lost |
| 1985–86 | New Zealand | Australia | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | Lost |
| 1985–86 | India | Australia | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | Drawn |
| 1986–87 | India | India | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2# | Drawn |
| 1986–87 | England | Australia | 5 | 1 | 2 | 2 | Lost |
| 1987–88 | New Zealand | Australia | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | Won |
| 1987–88 | England | Australia | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | Drawn |
| 1987–88 | Sri Lanka | Australia | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | Won |
| 1988–89 | Pakistan | Pakistan | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | Lost |
| 1988–89 | West Indies | Australia | 5 | 1 | 3 | 1 | Lost |
| 1989 | England | England | 6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | Won |
| 1989–90 | New Zealand | Australia | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | Drawn |
| 1989–90 | Sri Lanka | Australia | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | Won |
| Totals | 91 | 25 | 29 | 36# |
# plus one tied result
Australia's Record in ODI Cricket 1980–1989
| Year | Tournament | Venue | Played | Won | Lost | Tied | N/R | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1979–80 | World SeriesT | Australia | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | Eliminated |
| 1980 | Prudential Trophy | England | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | Lost |
| 1980–81 | World SeriesT | Australia | 14 | 9 | 4 | 0 | 1 | Won |
| 1981 | Prudential Trophy | England | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | Won |
| 1981–82 | World SeriesT | Australia | 14 | 5 | 9 | 0 | 0 | Runner-up |
| 1982 | v New Zealand | New Zealand | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | Won |
| 1982 | v Pakistan | Pakistan | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | Lost |
| 1983 | World SeriesT | Australia | 12 | 7 | 5 | 0 | 0 | Won |
| 1983 | v New Zealand | Australia | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | Lost |
| 1983 | v Sri Lanka | Sri Lanka | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | Lost |
| 1983 | 3rd World CupT | England | 6 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | Eliminated |
| 1984 | World SeriesT | Australia | 13 | 5 | 6 | 1 | 1 | Runner-up |
| 1984 | v West Indies | West Indies | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | Lost |
| 1984 | v India | India | 5 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | Won |
| 1985 | World SeriesT | Australia | 13 | 5 | 8 | 0 | 0 | Runner-up |
| 1985 | World Champ. CupT | Australia | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | Eliminated |
| 1985 | Rothmans CupT | Sharjah | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | Runner-up |
| 1985 | Texaco Trophy | England | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | Won |
| 1986 | World SeriesT | Australia | 12 | 8 | 3 | 0 | 1 | Won |
| 1986 | v New Zealand | New Zealand | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | Drawn |
| 1986 | Australasia CupT | Sharjah | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | Eliminated |
| 1986 | v India | India | 6 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 1 | Lost |
| 1987 | B&H ChallengeT | Australia | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | Eliminated |
| 1987 | World SeriesT | Australia | 10 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | Runner-up |
| 1987 | Sharjah CupT | Sharjah | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | Eliminated |
| 1987 | 4th World CupT | India/Pakistan | 8 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | Won |
| 1988 | World SeriesT | Australia | 10 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 0 | Won |
| 1988 | v England | Australia | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Won |
| 1988 | v Pakistan | Pakistan | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | Lost |
| 1988–89 | World SeriesT | Australia | 11 | 6 | 5 | 0 | 0 | Runner-up |
| 1989 | Texaco Trophy | England | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | Lost |
| 1989 | Nehru CupT | India | 5 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | Eliminated |
| 1989–90 | World SeriesT | Australia | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Completed in 1990 |
| Totals | 187 | 91 | 85 | 2 | 9 | |||
| Home | 121 | 64 | 53 | 1 | 3 | |||
| Away | 45 | 17 | 21 1 | 6 | ||||
| Neutral | 21 | 10 | 11 | 0 | 0 |
T: denotes tournament between three or more teams.
Australian cricket during the 1980s was comparatively unsuccessful, particularly following the retirement of players such as Marsh and Lillee. Queenslander Allan Border, rated as one of the finest middle-order players in history, took over as captain and attempted a re-building process. For quite some time, the common wisdom was that Australia's score in an innings would be "Border plus 100". Border achieved the feat of scoring more than 150 runs in both innings of a Test during a tour of Pakistan during this decade.
As the decade continued, a number of talented players made their debuts and established themselves in the team. Among these were fast bowler Craig McDermott, wicket keeper Ian Healy, Steve Waugh and batsman Dean Jones. Cult heroes such as overweight Tasmanian batsman David Boon and Victorian bowler Merv Hughes also earned places in the team.
In the closing years of the 1980s, Australia won back the Ashes from England and began an era of dominance in that series which only ended in 2005. This decade was also notable for Australia's first Cricket World Cup victory, achieved in 1987 when they won against England by 7 runs in the most closely fought World Cup final to date at Eden Gardens in Calcutta. These two aforementioned victories are considered to have signalled the genesis of the team's rise to dominance, though at that point they were still behind the West Indies and failed to win any Tests in India or Pakistan. In 1986, Australia and India played out only the second tie in Test history, with Jones producing a famous double-century innings in sapping heat.
Read more about this topic: History Of The Australian Cricket Team