Pre-World War I era

From 1900 to 1915, the Sheffield Shield tournament was played in Australia. Victoria won it 3 times, New South Wales won it 10 times and South Australia won it 2 times. England toured Australia in 1901-02, 1902-03, 1903-04, 1907-08 and 1911-12. South Africa toured Australia in 1910-11 and New Zealand toured in 1913-14. After the 1915 season, first class cricket was not played in Australia till December 1918 due to the World War I. Some of the significant Australian players of this era were Syd Gregory, Bill Whitty, Victor Trumper, Hugh Trumble and Warwick Armstrong.

Post-World War I era

After the end of the World War I, till the start of the World War II in 1941, the Sheffield Shield competition was played again. Victoria won this competition 9 times, New South Wales won it 9 times and South Australia won it 3 times. The international tours of Australia were as follows - England toured Australia in 1920-21, 1924-25, 1928-29, 1932-33 and 1936-37, MCC, an English cricket team raised by Marylebone Cricket Club, toured Australia in 1922-23, 1929-30 and 1935-36, New Zealand toured Australia in 1925-26, 1927-28 and 1937-38, West Indies toured Australia in 1930-31 and South Africa toured Australia in 1931-32. Some of the prominent Australian players in this period were Don Bradman, Arthur Mailey, Bert Oldfield, Bill Woodfull and Bill Ponsford.

Post-World War II era

After World War II was over, the Sheffield Shield was again started from 1946-47. Till 1959-60, it was contested 14 times. During this period, Victoria won it 2 times, Western Australia once, New South Wales 10 times and South Australia once. England toured Australia in 1946-47, 1950-51, 1954-55 and 1958-59. India toured once in 1947-48, West Indies toured in 1951-52, South Africa toured in 1952-53 and New Zealand toured in 1953-54. The important Australian cricketers of this era were Richie Benaud, Alan Davidson, Neil Harvey and Keith Miller.

From 1960 to 2000, the Sheffield Shield Cup was continuously played. In 2000, this cup was renamed as the Pura Cup after a four year sponsorship deal of the Australian Cricket Board with Pura Milk. In the above mentioned time span, there were several international tours of nations like England, New Zealand, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, West Indies and South Africa.

1987 World Cup triumph

The 1987 Cricket World Cup or the Reliance World Cup was lifted by the Australian captain, Allan Border. In the final, Australia defeated England by 7 runs in the Eden Gardens stadium in Kolkata. This was the most closely fought World Cup final till date. The Man of the Match was the Australian opening batsman, David Boon, who scored 75 runs with 7 boundaries.

1992 Cricket World Cup

The 1992 Cricket World Cup or the Benson & Hedges World Cup was hosted by Australia and New Zealand. This was the first World Cup when day-night matches were played and white cricket balls and colored team uniforms were used. For the matches that were affected by rain, the system used for recalculation of team totals became controversial.

1999 World Cup triumph

Australia won its second World Cup in 1999, when it defeated Pakistan by 8 wickets at Lord’s cricket ground in London. This was a one-sided final in which Shane Warne, the Australian spinner, was honored as the Man of the Match for a bowling spell of 4 wickets for 33 runs.