Australia’s Elite Quartet: The Unrivaled Legacy and What Lies Ahead

 

Some bowling attacks are remembered for fear. Some for numbers. Some for the trophies they helped win.

 

Australia’s current elite quartet has all three.

 

Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood and Nathan Lyon are not just four great bowlers who happened to share a dressing room. They are a rare unit: diverse in style, almost equal in contribution, and consistent across home and away conditions. As Australia begin another Test stretch, their next chapter could also be their final great run together.

 

One Historic Milestone Within Reach

 

The next big marker is simple and massive.

 

Hazlewood is only five wickets away from 300, and once he gets there, Australia could field the first Test quartet in history where each bowler has crossed the 300-wicket mark. That would put Cummins, Starc, Hazlewood and Lyon in a statistical club of their own.

 

They currently have 1610 Test wickets between them, a number that already places their combined experience among the most heavyweight bowling groups the game has seen.

 

The Best Quartet in Matches Played Together

 

The most striking number is not just their total career wickets. It is what they have done when playing together.

 

In 35 Tests as a quartet, Cummins, Starc, Hazlewood and Lyon have taken 567 wickets between them. No other four-bowler combination comes close, with the next best at 415 wickets. Their average return is a staggering 16.2 wickets per Test.

 

Even more impressive: the spread is almost equal. Cummins has 150, Starc 142, Hazlewood 141, and Lyon 134 in those matches. This is not one superstar carrying three support acts. This is four match-winners sharing the load.

 

Equal Partners, Different Weapons

 

That balance is what makes this Australian attack so special.

 

Starc brings left-arm pace and new-ball threat. Hazlewood brings control and relentless accuracy. Cummins offers hostility, bounce and first-change impact. Lyon gives Australia spin, endurance and fourth-innings value.

 

Together, they have accounted for 93.87% of Australia’s wickets across the 35 Tests they have played as a group, excluding run-outs. That tells the full story: when this quartet plays, they are not part of the attack — they are the attack.

 

The 2017-18 Ashes: The Perfect Starting Point

 

Their first series together gave a glimpse of what was coming.

 

In the 2017-18 Ashes, all 87 wickets taken by Australian bowlers were shared between the four: Cummins took 23, Starc 22, Hazlewood 21 and Lyon 21. Cricbuzz notes that no four bowlers, before or since, have combined to take all wickets by a team in a five-match Test series, excluding run-outs.

 

That series was not just a beginning. It was a blueprint.

 

Home and Away Numbers Show the Real Greatness

 

Many bowling attacks dominate at home and fade away overseas. Australia’s quartet does not fit that pattern.

 

In 24 home Tests together, they have averaged 25.2 and struck every 53.8 balls. In 11 away or neutral Tests, the average is 27.4 and strike rate 53.3. The strike rate barely changes, which shows their methods travel.

 

That is why their legacy is not only Australian-conditions greatness. It is all-conditions relevance.

 

Lyon’s Longevity Is Its Own Story

 

Nathan Lyon adds a different layer to the quartet’s story.

 

He is currently the sixth-highest wicket-taker in Test cricket with 567 wickets, and his durability is almost unmatched. Lyon is the only bowler to play 100 consecutive Tests, while the next-best sequence among specialist bowlers is Anil Kumble’s 60.

 

In matches featuring all four Australian bowlers, Lyon leads the group in third- and fourth-innings wickets with 76, ahead of Hazlewood, Cummins and Starc. That makes him the closer in many games — the bowler Australia trust when the pitch is tired and the match needs finishing.

 

The Pace Trio Has Its Own Legacy

 

Even without Lyon, the pace trio has built a major statistical identity.

 

Cummins, Starc and Hazlewood have taken 466 wickets in 38 Tests together, averaging 24.5. Among great pace trios, those numbers put them among the modern elite.

 

Cummins also has a personal record in sight. As a first-change seamer, he has 116 wickets, putting him within range of Ian Botham and Morne Morkel’s record mark of 129 in that role.

 

What Lies Ahead?

 

This may be the final major chapter for the quartet.

 

Cummins, at 33, is the only one of the four under 35. Starc, Hazlewood and Lyon are all nearing the back end of their careers. Australia’s issue is not just celebrating them — it is preparing for what comes after them.

 

That transition will not be simple. Since the 2017-18 Ashes, Australia have had only five specialist seamers debut in Tests, and two of the leading backup options, Scott Boland and Michael Neser, are also over 35. On the spin front, Todd Murphy and Matthew Kuhnemann have only limited Test exposure behind Lyon.

 

More Than Test Greatness

 

Cummins, Starc and Hazlewood also have a rare white-ball legacy.

 

They are the only specialist bowling trio to have played in and won both the 2021 T20 World Cup final and the 2023 ODI World Cup final. That gives this era of Australian bowling not just Test dominance, but multi-format championship weight.

 

Interesting Angle for Sportish

 

The most interesting part is that Australia are celebrating greatness and facing succession anxiety at the same time.

 

This quartet may still have enough left for one final dominant stretch — Bangladesh, India, Ashes, and beyond. But Australia must also use this period to find the next wave. Replacing one great bowler is hard. Replacing four who have carried almost an entire attack for nearly a decade is something else entirely.

 

That is the real story: the legacy is secure, but the succession plan is now urgent.

 

Key Takeaway

 

Cummins, Starc, Hazlewood and Lyon are already one of Test cricket’s greatest bowling quartets, with 567 wickets in 35 Tests together and 1610 career Test wickets between them. With Hazlewood close to 300 wickets, they are on the brink of another historic first — but Australia’s next big challenge is preparing for life after them.

 

Australia’s golden bowling quartet is nearing history.

Cummins, Starc, Hazlewood and Lyon have 1610 Test wickets between them — and could soon become the first quartet to play together with all four past 300.

 

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