Top 5: Aussie stars in a losing cause

5) Ryan Harris v England, 2013 (England won 3-0)
M: 4 | Wkts: 24 | Ave: 19.58 | BBI: 7-117 | 5wi: 2 | 10w: 0

That Ryan Harris took 24 wickets in the 2013 Ashes series, the second-best haul of any touring Australian quick in England this century, was an admirable return in a series that did not yield a single Test victory for his side.

That he did so having missed the first Test due to injury only enhances his performance.

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Recalled for the second Test at Lord's after a narrow loss at Trent Bridge, Harris prised out three of England's top four on the opening day and finished with 5-72, a performance that was overshadowed by two significant Australian batting collapses.

He had to be satisfied with bags of two wickets in six of the seven innings that followed, the exception being a career-best seven-wicket haul in Durham that briefly gave rise to hope of an Australian win.

4) Michael Clarke v South Africa, 2012 (South Africa won 1-0)
M: 3 | Runs: 576 | Ave: 144.00 | HS: 259* | 100s: 2 | 50s: 0

During a Test career that spanned 11 mostly successful years, Michael Clarke reached his batting zenith during a golden 12-month period in 2011-12 when he was rightfully regarded as the best batsman in the world.

Starting with a gutsy 151 in Cape Town in late 2011, one of the best performances of his career, Clarke then peeled off an historic 329no against India two months later and another double-century three weeks after that.

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But the pinnacle of this golden patch came against the Proteas in November 2012 when he became just the sixth man in history to score a double-century in consecutive Test innings.

That his sublime 259no at the Gabba was surpassed by his 257-ball innings of 230 in Adelaide less than a fortnight later said it all about the aura of invincibility that surrounded the Australian captain during this time.

Even if he couldn't lead his side to a series win.

3) Mitchell Starc v Sri Lanka, 2016 (Sri Lanka won 3-0)
M: 3 | Wkts: 24 | Ave: 15.16 | BBI: 6-50 | 5wi: 3 | 10w: 1

Given their carefully-planned preparation and the internal ructions of their opponents heading into the series, Australia's defeat in Sri Lanka must rank as one of their most disappointing campaigns on Asian soil in recent memory.

And if not for their strike bowler Mitchell Starc, playing his first Test series in eight months, the margin of their three defeats would have been considerably greater.

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On surfaces designed to assist the home side's spinners, and by extension limit Starc's effectiveness, the left-armer bowled with express pace in draining conditions, and regularly found significant movement with the new ball and reverse swing with the old.

His match-haul off 11 wickets in Galle has already been rated one of the best ever by a paceman in Asia, and his series tally of 24 is the most ever in a three-match series by a visiting paceman to the subcontinent.

In another dark subcontinental tour for the Australians, Starc was a shining light.

2) Matthew Hayden v India, 2001 (India won 2-1)
M: 3 | Runs: 549 | Ave: 109.80 | HS: 203 | 100s: 2 | 50s: 2

A performance that grows in stature with every lamentable Australian batting effort on the subcontinent, Hayden's 2001 tour of India was a triumphant transformation.

Brought up on the grass and bounce of the Gabba, and boasting a Test average of just 24 heading into the series, Hayden famously dusted up practice pitches in Brisbane to prepare for the Indian spin assault.

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He then swept his way to a brilliant century in a 10-wicket thumping in the first Test in Mumbai, sharing a memorable partnership with Adam Gilchrist after the tourists slumped to 5-99, and added scores of 97 and 67 in a famous loss in Kolkata.

Then came one of the best innings ever by an Australian batsman in Asia, a supreme 203 in Chennai that, while not enough to help Australia avoid a series defeat, is still regarded as a high-water mark for Australians in the subcontinent.

1) Shane Warne v England, 2005 (England won 2-1)
M: 5 | Wkts: 40 | Ave: 19.92 | BBI: 6-46 | 5wi: 3 | 10w: 2

What is regarded as the greatest Test series of modern times produced some extraordinary individual performances, arguably none better than Warne's one-man show that almost saved Australia from relinquishing the Ashes for the first time in 16 years.

Having taken a back seat to the Glenn McGrath show in a thumping win at Lord's, Warne stepped up in the final four Tests of the series as nearly all of his teammates flailed against an inspired England side.

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Ten wickets at Edgbaston, and a nail-biting innings of 42 that almost stole an unlikely victory, was followed by four more wickets at Old Trafford, including the 600th of his career, as well as scores of 90 and 34 with the bat as the tourists escaped with a draw.

Eight more wickets at Trent Bridge and then another 12 at The Oval capped off a record-breaking series, and even a vital dropped catch on the final day of the final Test couldn't take the gloss of one of the greatest individual displays of all time.