Australia's road back to world No.1

Australia have returned to the Test team summit for the first time in 18 months, but the journey back to No.1 hasn't always been smooth sailing.

Australia were awarded the No.1 Test team ranking in May 2014 but lost the title three months later when South Africa beat Sri Lanka 1-0 to reclaim the crown.

Recap and highlights: Australia beat Black Caps to go No.1

What followed were seven Test series and five series wins, comprising 21 matches of which Australia won 12, lost five and drew four.

Twenty-three players featured during the ascension back to the top, with only Steve Smith, David Warner and Nathan Lyon playing in every match.

While Australia's focus has been winning more consistently away from home, they actually won more Tests abroad than they lost; winning six and losing five.

But the defeats came in clumps – two in the UAE and three in the UK delivered their only series losses of the period, both under the leadership of Michael Clarke.

At home, Australia have been imperious. In the 10 matches in their own backyard, they have won six and drawn four, and were rarely tested on home soil.

Take a look back on Australia's path to the No.1 Test ranking.

October 2014: 0-2 (2 Tests) loss v Pakistan in UAE

Following a clean sweep of the limited-over fixtures, nobody saw the Test trouncing Pakistan would inflict on the tourists coming. Michael Clarke's men were bashed by batting giants Younus Khan, Azhar Ali and captain Misbah-ul-Haq, the latter scoring the joint-fastest Test century (at the time) in the 356-run drubbing in Abu Dhabi. Australia's batsmen had few answers to the spin of Zulfiqar Babar and Yasir Shah, with David Warner the only one to post three figures. But there was one shining light – Mitchell Marsh made his Test debut in Dubai and scored a defiant 87 in his second match. 

December 2014 – January 2015: 2-0 (4) win v India in Australia

The hosts bravely won an emotional opening Test against India in Adelaide just days after the tragic passing of Phillip Hughes, with Smith, Clarke and Warner (twice) scoring hundreds. Nathan Lyon spun a web to take 12 wickets – his best performance in Test cricket – and from there Smith piled on the runs as stand-in skipper for an injured Clarke, guiding them to victory in Brisbane before two placid pitches produced a plethora of runs and two draws. The summer also marked the debut of Josh Hazlewood, who claimed his maiden five-wicket haul in his first Test at the Gabba. 

June 2015: 2-0 (2) win v West Indies in Caribbean

A blow to the head by a net bowler ruled opener out Chris Rogers of the two-Test series in the Caribbean, giving Shaun Marsh an opportunity at the top of the order. Clarke was back in charge and Australia were never really tested, with Mitchell Starc leading a dominant pace attack that ripped through the hosts. Adam Voges, at 35, scored a Test century on debut in Dominica while Smith fell agonisingly short of a maiden Test double-century – out lbw for 199. Hazlewood, with 12 wickets, was named player of the series. 

July – August 2015: 2-3 (5) loss v England in UK

After a first-up loss in Cardiff, Australia bounced back in terrific fashion at Lord's, thumping England by 405 runs off the back of Smith's 215, Rogers' 173 and a bruising bowling performance led by a resurgent Mitchell Johnson. But all was forgotten in the next two Tests, when Australia were rolled for 136 at Edgbaston and then humiliated for 60 at Trent Bridge – Stuart Broad the wrecking ball as England won back the urn with one Test remaining. Following four single-figure scores, Smith posted 143 at The Oval in the consolation win in what was Clarke and Rogers' final Test in the Baggy Green. The tour also claimed Ryan Harris, Brad Haddin and Shane Watson to retirement, with Smith instilled as Clarke's full-time successor. 

November – December 2015: 2-0 (3) win v New Zealand in Australia

While Australia fielded a new-look team, the result was the same – an emphatic victory on home soil to start the summer. Usman Khawaja and Joe Burns celebrated their return to the Test team with a century each in the first Test, while Warner posted a hundred in each innings.  More runs followed on a flat WACA wicket – Warner scoring 259 in the run fest in the west that petered out to a draw. In his adopted home in Perth, Mitchell Johnson played his last match for Australia, ending a fantastic career as the fourth-highest wicket-taker for his country. The series finale was played under lights for the first time in the inaugural day-night Test at the Adelaide Oval. The pink ball and grassy pitch made batting difficult, but the new conditions swung the balance between bat and ball back to somewhere near parity. Hazlewood's nine wickets won him the man-of-the-match award as Australia chased down a nervy target of 187 to win by three wickets and claim the series 2-0. 

December 2015 – January 2016: 2-0 (3) win v West Indies in Australia

Batting records were obliterated when the Windies visited for three Tests at the back end of the summer. Voges (269no) and Shaun Marsh (182) combined for 449 in Hobart – the highest fourth wicket partnership in Test history in a thumping innings and 212-run victory. James Pattinson, after an 18 month Test absence, returned with five second-innings wicket at Bellerive Oval. The runs continued to flow in the Boxing Day Test as Burns, Khawaja, Smith and Voges all posted centuries at the MCG in another crushing victory. While rain ruined the SCG New Year's Test, there was enough time for Warner to register the fastest Test century at the historic venue. 

February 2016: 2-0 (2) win v New Zealand in New Zealand

Winning away from home was high on Smith's agenda when he took over the Test captaincy, and in his first mission he and his charges delivered in full. Hazlewood led the attack with aplomb on a green pitch in Wellington before Khawaja and run-machine Voges, who posted 239 to see his average hover around triple-figures, lifted the visitors to an unconquerable 562. Lyon and Mitchell Marsh then combined for seven wickets in the second dig to inflict an innings and 52-run win. After weathering Brendon McCullum's whirlwind century in Christchurch – the fastest in Test history – Burns and Smith scored tons to put the match beyond reach for the Black Caps. Jackson Bird proved why he belongs at Test level with five wickets to help set 201 for victory and the title as the world's best. Warner went early but the new regime of Burns, Khawaja and Smith guided Australia home and helped them claim the world No.1 ranking.