It has been another fruitful year for Australia in the Test match arena. It was a busy 2025 with a home Test match against India, followed by a two-game away series against Sri Lanka, the World Test Championship Final, three Tests against the West Indies and three against England so far. Australia finished with a 9-1 record across the 10 tests, dropping just the WTC final against the Proteas.
We analyse each player's performance in Test match cricket in 2025, selecting the best XI of the calendar year. While some players picked themselves in the side, others were far harder to settle on, with the middle order and opening positions up for grabs.
1. Travis Head - 759 runs @ 42.6
Many would have laughed had Travis Head been named as an opener in this team a month ago. But a pair of hundreds in the first three Ashes Tests as an opener has seen him potentially become the answer to Australia's woes at the top of the order.
It was a little bit hit or miss for Head in 2025, but his ability to stand up in big moments simply cannot be questioned. His second innings hundred in Perth defied the pattern of the game, dispatching the English bowlers behind point time and again. With no team passing 172 in the first three innings, England would've felt right in the contest, having set the Aussies 205 to win. But thanks to Head, the game was over 28 overs later.
An important 170 in Adelaide was another highlight for Head in 2025. With Australia leading by 85 runs after the first innings, his mammoth second innings all but removed any hope England had of keeping the series alive.
2. Usman Khawaja - 585 runs @ 39
There is no doubting Khawaja is in the twilight of his Test career, and just a week ago it even looked like it might be over. But Khawaja deserves his place in this team, having been the one constant at the top as opening partners have come and gone this year.
There is no doubt his average is significantly inflated by his 352-ball 232 against Sri Lanka in Galle, but it did serve as a timely reminder that he still possesses the patience and discipline required at Test level. Although not opening in the most recent Ashes Test, Khawaja compiled 82 in the first dig, followed by another important 40 to steady Australia in the second innings.
His form isn't where it once was, but the fact is Khawaja remains one of our better options at the top.
3. Marnus Labuschagne - 257 runs @ 23.4
All in all, it has been a disappointing 2025 for Labuschagne. After starting his career superbly, Labuschagne has stalled slightly in the last three years. He was even omitted at one point on Australia's tour to the West Indies this year.
But there is no doubting his class. The selectors would have been thrilled with his response after his axing mid-year. He returned to domestic cricket, posting five centuries in eight innings across the one-day and Sheffield Shield competitions. Although he hasn't posted a big score in the Ashes series just yet, he has scored two half-centuries and looks like he is back to his proactive best.
Has fielded superbly this year despite his batting woes. Two superb left-handed slips catches in Adelaide highlighted this.
4. Steve Smith - 618 runs @ 51.5
After an uncharacteristic lean period in 2023 and 2024, 2025 was another strong year for the champion right-hander. He posted a pair of hundreds on the tour to Sri Lanka, while also recording three important half-centuries across the year.
With captain Pat Cummins missing at times, Smith has captained superbly in his absence, including the first two Ashes tests that Australia won convincingly.
Having finished not out twice chasing smaller totals in the Ashes so far, Smith has only had two genuine goes, returning scores of 17 and 61. He missed the third Test, but you get the feeling a Boxing Day special might be on the way.
5. Beau Webster - 381 runs @ 34.6, 8 wickets @ 23.3
2025 was a breakout year for Webster, where he made his Test debut. He went on to feature in a further seven tests, performing admirably with both bat and ball. He has challenged Cam Green for Australia's all-rounder position, a position that looked as if it had been locked away by Green two years ago.
In his first nine batting innings for Australia, he has scored below 20 just twice, including scores of 72 on debut, 63, 60 and 57. A trio of failures in his last three innings on tough batting wickets in the West Indies hurt his average.
He also offers both handy medium-pace and off-spin, collecting eight wickets at 23.3 across the year.
Webster's early consistency, combined with his strong Shield form in the past few seasons, should see him break back into the Australian Test team very soon, likely at the expense of an out-of-form Green.
6. Alex Carey - 743 runs @ 53.1, 45 dismissals
2025 was a career-best year in the Test arena for wicketkeeper/batsman Carey. He has been elevated to number six after flourishing with the bat in the last 12 months, averaging 53 since the start of the year. He has scored two hundreds and four half-centuries in this period.
The highlight came in Adelaide, where Carey scored an aggressive 106 in the first innings. He came to the crease with Australia in a spot of bother at 4-94 just after lunch as they looked to wrap up the series.
What has potentially been more impressive is his glove work. He has recorded 45 dismissals this year, with 40 catches and five stumpings. Carey is sublime up to the stumps to spinner Nathan Lyon, while he has also stood up to pacemen Scott Boland and Michael Neser at times. This has been crucial in the current Ashes series, keeping English batsmen in their crease and unable to disrupt Boland and Neser from their faultless line and length.
7. Mitchell Starc - 51 wickets @ 17.2, 283 runs @ 28.3
Starc listed at seven may surprise some, but his 2025 numbers suggest he is a genuine all-rounder.
It has been a career-best year for Starc with the ball at age 35. 51 wickets at just 17 apiece are incredible numbers, including his best ever figures of 7-58 in the first Ashes Test where Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood were missing. Starc's ability to swing the ball, while also scrambling the seam and moving it across right-handers, has made him even more dangerous than he once was.
After a lean couple of years with the bat, Starc has returned to form in 2025 with some important innings. Averaging a tick over 28, he has scored three important half-centuries across the year. The first came in the second innings of the WTC Final to keep Australia in the game, while the other two have come at crucial times in the current Ashes series.
8. Pat Cummins - 26 wickets @ 16.5
Despite suffering a back injury in the second half of 2025, it was another stellar year for captain Cummins. He claimed 26 wickets in just six matches, including figures of 6/28 in the first innings of the WTC Final.
The right-arm quick is relentless in challenging the batsman's stumps and outside edge. He proved his class upon return from a significant back injury in the Adelaide Test. Having not bowled competitively since the West Indies Tour in July, Cummins looked like he hadn't missed a beat by claiming three wickets in each innings.
Despite his leadership being criticised at times, he has become one of the most successful Australian captains by the numbers. There is no denying he has done a superb job with this team.
9. Nathan Lyon - 29 wickets @ 25.3
Australia's most successful off-spinner again proved why he's one of the world's best in 2025. His ability to extract spin and bounce has made him an incredible asset for the Aussies since debuting in 2011. He often makes important breakthroughs for Cummins, but it's his control and ability to hold down an end that make him just as valuable.
He showcased his class in spinning conditions in Galle in February, claiming 14 wickets for the series at an average of 22. Just as impressive, however, is Lyon's effectiveness in Australian conditions, where many of the game's greatest spinners have struggled.
On surfaces that traditionally offer less turn, Lyon consistently uses the bounce in his favour. That was evident in Adelaide, where he bowled long spells to finish with match figures of 5-147 from 53 overs.
10. Scott Boland - 27 wickets @ 15.6
It has been an extraordinary four-year period for Scott Boland, who, after toiling away in the domestic system for Victoria, has become a crucial part of Australia's highly successful bowling unit. With Josh Hazlewood managing injury concerns throughout the year, Boland has been relied upon more heavily than in previous years. And boy has he delivered.
Boland began 2025 with a man-of-the-match performance at the SCG, claiming match figures of 10-76 from 36.5 overs against India. He then featured in a lone Test in the West Indies, collecting six wickets, before adding a further 11 wickets at 28 apiece in the ongoing Ashes series.
His 27 wickets across the year have come at a miserly economy rate of just 2.9, proving the value of his relentless line and length in the current Australian setup.
11. Josh Hazlewood - 16 wickets @ 17.9
It was another injury-interrupted campaign for the champion fast bowler, who won't feature in the Ashes, but his impact when fit was too hard to ignore. Playing just the four Tests, Hazlewood snared 16 wickets at an average of just 17.9.
He played all three Tests in Australia's mid-year tour of the West Indies, where he was ultra-impressive, claiming 14 wickets at just 14.2. His probing line and length, combined with his ability to move the ball off the seam, consistently troubles batsmen and highlights his importance to Australia's pace attack when available.
