How does the Kat stack up?

With Saturday's retirement of Simon Katich, we've looked back at his record - and those of Australia's recent past - to determine just how influential the left-hander was during his 56-Test career. 

Katich began his Test career in 2001, but we've gone back further to define his generation as the 'post-Border era' - which, neatly enough, also takes in the past 20 years (July 1994-July 2014).

1. Ricky Ponting

More matches, more runs and more hundreds than any Australian over the past two decades, Ponting simply had to assume top place on this list. Aggressive and fearless from No.3 for the majority of his record-breaking career, Ponting’s ability to turn a game in a session or two, as well as his insatiable appetite for runs, makes him undisputedly one of the all-time greats.

From July 1, 1994

2. Steve Waugh

To average over 55 through more than 100 Tests is a stunning achievement in itself, and speaks to Waugh’s reliability through Australia’s era of utter dominance. So many match-winning knocks, and it is those – most notably the double century against West Indies that began it all – that gets him up to second place on this list.

From July 1, 1994

3. Matthew Hayden

It wasn’t until 2001 that Hayden found his feet at international level, but when he did, he quickly made up for lost time. Nineteen hundreds in just 42 matches followed at a Bradman-like rate, including what was briefly a world record effort of 380. Like Ponting, Hayden was at times wildly aggressive, advancing down the wicket to fast bowlers and carting them over the heads of disbelieving in-fielders.

From July 1, 1994

4. Michael Clarke

The word was out about Clarke well before he’d made his Test debut, and he promptly delivered in Baggy Green with a stunning 151 first up in India, as he helped Australia to a breakthrough series win on the subcontinent. The 2012 year was a record-breaking one for Clarke, who was by then captain, as he plundered a triple century and three doubles in a remarkable run. Not since Allan Border has one batsman been so important to the Australian side.

From July 1, 1994

5. Adam Gilchrist

Revolutionised the game as a wicketkeeper with sublime batting gifts. It became almost the norm for Gilchrist to stride to the crease at No.7 and set about destroying bowling attacks in the space of a couple of hours. Scored an incredible 17 Test tons, many of them match-winning hands, and collected his runs at a strike-rate of more than 80 to be arguably the most devastating batsman since Viv Richards.

From July 1, 1994

6. Mark Waugh

Waugh scored 14 of his 20 Test hundreds in this period, including match-winning and match-saving epics against fierce rivals South Africa. Combined with brother Steve in that era-defining stand in Jamaica ’95 to wrestle the unofficial world champions title from the mighty West Indies. His average may not stack up against many others on this list, but for sheer batting genius, it is hard to go past a man who made batting look all too easy.

From July 1, 1994

7. Justin Langer

Like his opening partner Hayden, Langer took his time to settle into international cricket. Typecast as a gritty, grafting batsman, the West Australian reinvented himself as an attacking opener in the early 2000s and never looked back. With Hayden and Langer, the trio piled on mountains of runs at the top of the Australian order, with Langer’s epic 127 against Pakistan in Hobart in 1999 one of the great backs-against-the-wall knocks of modern times.

From July 1, 1994

8. Mike Hussey

Had over 15,000 first-class runs to his name before he even got an opportunity in Australia’s all-conquering Test side. But when he got that chance, Hussey was ready to go, and he enjoyed a Bradmanesque average in the early stages of his career. The runs kept coming – highlights including a stunning 2006-07 Ashes and a tour of Sri Lanka in 2011 during which he was virtually untouchable. Remarkably, a man who began his Test career on the wrong side of 30 finished it as Australia’s 12th greatest run-scorer.

From July 1, 1994

9. Damien Martyn

In the ilk of Mark Waugh, Martyn possessed that rare ability to make the difficult craft of Test match batting appear absurdly easy. His apparent nonchalance masked a steely resolve however, and it was that, combined with his obvious natural gifts, that made him one of Test cricket’s most prolific batsmen in the mid-2000s. Australia’s conquering of Sri Lanka and India in 2004 would almost certainly not have happened without him.

From July 1, 1994

10. Michael Slater

Slater burst onto the scene about a year prior to this particular 20-year window, but his impact carried on well into it. A swashbuckling opener who loved nothing more than flaying attacks to all parts, Slater formed a superb combination at the top of the order with his Wagga Wagga colleague, Mark Taylor. Tended to save his best for the Ashes, was out for a then record nine times in the 90s, and set the tone for the aggressive batting that characterised Australian cricket through its golden era.

From July 1, 1994

11. Simon Katich

Katich spent a frustrating career in and out of the Test side, despite his undeniable ability. Never seemed safe from the selectors’ axe even when he was dominating, and rightly felt aggrieved when he was dropped for the last time in 2010, despite winning Australia’s Test Player of the Year that same season. Another who spent time in the middle order before establishing himself as an opener, Katich finished with more runs through this period than Slater and Martyn, and was a vital ally to Ricky Ponting as Australia looked to rebuild following the retirements of a host of legends.

From July 1, 1994

12. Mark Taylor

Taylor played almost half his 104 Tests during this period, however only scored seven of his 19 centuries overall. His captaincy reign coincided with the beginning of this era also, though a pair in his first match in charge was a sign of things to come. Returned from an infamous slump with a fine Ashes hundred, and went on to enjoy a fruitful 1997-98 period, the highlight of which was an epic, unbeaten 334 against Pakistan.

From July 1, 1994