# Australia national speedway team

The Australia national speedway team is one of the leading teams in international motorcycle speedway, with the country regarded as the birthplace of the sport in the 1920s. The team are five times champions of the world having won the sports premier team competition in 1976, 1999, 2001, 2002 and 2022.

## History

The national speedway team held test matches against the England as early as 1928, although the first official test match is listed as 30 June 1930 at Wimbledon Stadium.
The team won its first Speedway World Team Cup in 1976, with captain John Boulger, Phil Crump, Billy Sanders and Phil Herne. They had to wait over 30 years before winning three tournaments out of four, between 1999 and 2002. Key riders during the period were Jason Crump, Leigh Adams, Ryan Sullivan and Todd Wiltshire, who all took part in three wins, while Jason Lyons rode in two (1999 and 2002) and Craig Boyce rode in 2001.
The fifth success came in the 2022 Speedway of Nations (the new name for the World Cup) with the squad members being Jack Holder, Max Fricke and Jason Doyle.
Four times Australian champion Jim Airey is the only Australian rider to win the World Team Cup not riding for Australia. He won the 1971 Speedway World Team Cup in Wrocław, Poland, as part of the Great Britain team.

## Major tournament wins
### World Team Championships

| Year | Venue | Standings (Pts) | Australia Riders and Pts | Australia Riders and Pts |
| 1976 | London White City Stadium | 1. Australia (31) 2. Poland (28) 3. Sweden (26) 4. Soviet Union (11) | Phil Crump | 11 |
| 1976 | London White City Stadium | 1. Australia (31) 2. Poland (28) 3. Sweden (26) 4. Soviet Union (11) | Billy Sanders | 7 |
| 1976 | London White City Stadium | 1. Australia (31) 2. Poland (28) 3. Sweden (26) 4. Soviet Union (11) | Phil Herne | 7 |
| 1976 | London White City Stadium | 1. Australia (31) 2. Poland (28) 3. Sweden (26) 4. Soviet Union (11) | John Boulger | 6 |
| 1976 | London White City Stadium | 1. Australia (31) 2. Poland (28) 3. Sweden (26) 4. Soviet Union (11) | Garry Middleton | - |
| 1999 | Pardubice Svítkov Stadion | 1. Australia (51) 2. Czech Republic (35) 3. USA (29) 4. England (29) | Leigh Adams | 14 |
| 1999 | Pardubice Svítkov Stadion | 1. Australia (51) 2. Czech Republic (35) 3. USA (29) 4. England (29) | Jason Crump | 13+1 |
| 1999 | Pardubice Svítkov Stadion | 1. Australia (51) 2. Czech Republic (35) 3. USA (29) 4. England (29) | Ryan Sullivan | 12+3 |
| 1999 | Pardubice Svítkov Stadion | 1. Australia (51) 2. Czech Republic (35) 3. USA (29) 4. England (29) | Jason Lyons | 10+3 |
| 1999 | Pardubice Svítkov Stadion | 1. Australia (51) 2. Czech Republic (35) 3. USA (29) 4. England (29) | Todd Wiltshire | 2+1 |
| 2001 | Wrocław Olympic Stadium | 1. Australia (68) 2. Poland (65) 3. Sweden (51) 4. Denmark (44) 5. USA (30) | Jason Crump | 20 |
| 2001 | Wrocław Olympic Stadium | 1. Australia (68) 2. Poland (65) 3. Sweden (51) 4. Denmark (44) 5. USA (30) | Leigh Adams | 16 |
| 2001 | Wrocław Olympic Stadium | 1. Australia (68) 2. Poland (65) 3. Sweden (51) 4. Denmark (44) 5. USA (30) | Ryan Sullivan | 13 |
| 2001 | Wrocław Olympic Stadium | 1. Australia (68) 2. Poland (65) 3. Sweden (51) 4. Denmark (44) 5. USA (30) | Todd Wiltshire | 10 |
| 2001 | Wrocław Olympic Stadium | 1. Australia (68) 2. Poland (65) 3. Sweden (51) 4. Denmark (44) 5. USA (30) | Craig Boyce | 9 |
| 2002 | Peterborough East of England Showground | 1. Australia (64) 2. Denmark (58) 3. Sweden (54) 4. Poland (48) 5. Czech Republic (36) | Leigh Adams | 17 |
| 2002 | Peterborough East of England Showground | 1. Australia (64) 2. Denmark (58) 3. Sweden (54) 4. Poland (48) 5. Czech Republic (36) | Ryan Sullivan | 17 |
| 2002 | Peterborough East of England Showground | 1. Australia (64) 2. Denmark (58) 3. Sweden (54) 4. Poland (48) 5. Czech Republic (36) | Jason Crump | 14 |
| 2002 | Peterborough East of England Showground | 1. Australia (64) 2. Denmark (58) 3. Sweden (54) 4. Poland (48) 5. Czech Republic (36) | Todd Wiltshire | 13 |
| 2002 | Peterborough East of England Showground | 1. Australia (64) 2. Denmark (58) 3. Sweden (54) 4. Poland (48) 5. Czech Republic (36) | Jason Lyons | 3 |
| 2022 | Vojens Vojens Speedway Center | 1. Australia (30) 2. Great Britain (32) 3. Sweden (30) 4. Denmark (28) 5. Czech Republic (27) 6. Poland (26) 7. Finland (16) | Jack Holder | 19+4+4 |
| 2022 | Vojens Vojens Speedway Center | 1. Australia (30) 2. Great Britain (32) 3. Sweden (30) 4. Denmark (28) 5. Czech Republic (27) 6. Poland (26) 7. Finland (16) | Max Fricke | 11+3+2 |
| 2022 | Vojens Vojens Speedway Center | 1. Australia (30) 2. Great Britain (32) 3. Sweden (30) 4. Denmark (28) 5. Czech Republic (27) 6. Poland (26) 7. Finland (16) | Jason Doyle | res |

## International caps (as of 2022)

Since the advent of the Speedway Grand Prix era, international caps earned by riders is largely restricted to international competitions, whereas previously test matches between two teams were a regular occurrence. This means that the number of caps earned by a rider has decreased in the modern era.
| Rider | Caps |
| Adams, Leigh | 71 |
| Airey, Jim | 36 |
| Allan, Gary* | 1 |
| Amundson, Kym | 4 |
| Amundson, Robin | 1 |
| Arnfield, Jack | 1 |
| Arthur, Frank | 15 |
| Bainbridge, Junior | 9 |
| Baker, Steve | 13 |
| Bartlett, Greg | 1 |
| Bass, Chris | 7 |
| Batchelor, Troy | 9 |
| Bear, Stan | 4 |
| Benson, Lionel | 3 |
| Bentzen, Les | 1 |
| Bibby, Jack | 4 |
| Biggs, Jack | 39 |
| Blackadder, Robbie | 4 |
| Blake, Bobby | 1 |
| Blight, Ernie | 3 |
| Board, Johnny | 1 |
| Boulger, John | 65 |
| Bowerman, John | 1 |
| Bowes, Shane | 51 |
| Boyce, Craig | 45 |
| Boyle, Tony | 1 |
| Bradshaw, Peter | 1 |
| Bryden, Bill | 10 |
| Butler, Troy | 28 |
| Cameron, Ken | 3 |
| Carlson, Mark | 6 |
| Case, Dick | 39 |
| Catlett, Stan | 1 |
| Chamberlain, Johnny | 6 |
| Chapman, Jack | 17 |
| Cheshire David | 3 |
| Chessell, Rod | 1 |
| Chignell, Jack | 5 |
| Clay, Norman | 2 |
| Coddington, Neil | 8 |
| Collins, Eric | 9 |
| Colquhoun, Rod | 3 |
| Cox, Keith | 5 |
| Cresp, Ray | 4 |
| Crump, Jason | 51 |
| Crump, Phil | 76 |
| Curtis, Geoff | 9 |
| Davies, Stephen | 27 |
| Day, Ricky | 10 |
| Dolan, Frank | 8 |
| Doyle, Glenn | 20 |
| Duckett, Frank | 20 |
| Duggan, Ray | 14 |
| Duggan, Vic | 30 |
| Dykes, Peter | 1 |
| Evans, Ernie | 8 |
| Farrell, Mike | 12 |
| Fenn, Eric | 8 |
| Fiora, Mike | 6 |
| Forrest, Wayne | 3 |
| Galloway, Billy | 1 |
| Gavros, Dennis | 3 |
| Geran, Jack | 11 |
| Grosskreutz, Max | 57 |
| Guasco, Gordon | 10 |
| Guglielmi, Gary | 14 |
| Gurtner, Keith | 23 |
| Hansen, Arnie | 3 |
| Harding, Merv | 11 |
| Hastings, Harold | 1 |
| Henderson, Ron | 2 |
| Herne, Phil | 41 |
| Hewitt, Les | 1 |
| Hibberd, Buzz | 1 |
| Hodgson, Craig | 8 |
| Holder, Chris | 17 |
| Humphreys, Bob | 12 |
| Hunter, Alec | 3 |
| Hunter, Rod | 3 |
| Huxley, Vic | 47 |
| Hyland, Jack | 2 |
| Hynes, Dave | 1 |
| Ingram, Peter | 2 |
| Isbel, Clayton | 1 |
| Jackson, Dave | 4 |
| Johnson, Ron | 59 |
| Johnston, Steve | 16 |
| Kennedy, Danny | 10 |
| Kentwell, Greg | 18 |
| Kingston, Bert | 9 |
| Koppe, Steve | 16 |
| Lamont, Billy | 15 |
| Landels, Bill* | 8 |
| Langdon, Tony | 8 |
| Langfield, John | 50 |
| Langton, Steve | 2 |
| Lawson, Aub | 70 |
| Lawson, Don | 4 |
| Le Breton, Ken | 12 |
| Leisk, Les | 9 |
| Lemon, Mark | 8 |
| Leverenz, Bob | 10 |
| Levy, Lionel | 16 |
| Lewis, Harry | 1 |
| Lindsay, Norman | 1 |
| Little, Wally | 13 |
| Loakes, Bryan | 7 |
| Longley, Bill | 39 |
| Lyons, Jason | 35 |
| MacDonald, Kevin | 1 |
| McCallum, Bruce | 1 |
| McDonald, Glenn | 5 |
| McGowan, Travis | 2 |
| McKean, Dudley | 2 |
| McKeown, Mick | 11 |
| McLachlan,Doug | 2 |
| Maxfield, Rob | 1 |
| Melluish, Bill | 2 |
| Menzies, Andy | 6 |
| Middleton, Garry | 1 |
| Mills, Dave | 1 |
| Mitchell, Clem | 29 |
| Mitchell, Lindsay | 2 |
| Monk, Charlie | 26 |
| Moore, Peter | 22 |
| Moore, Ronnie | 13 |
| Mountford, Stuart | 3 |
| Mudge, Geoff | 10 |
| Murphy, Mick | 7 |
| Murray, Ken | 2 |
| Norman, Scott | 2 |
| Nunan, Tim | 2 |
| O'Brien, Trevor | 1 |
| Parker, Shane | 20 |
| Payne, Arthur | 18 |
| Pearce, Frank | 8 |
| Poole, Mick | 22 |
| Prettjohn, Dave | 2 |
| Proctor, Ty | 3 |
| Quinn, Allan | 1 |
| Regeling, Steve | 28 |
| Reinke, Steve | 16 |
| Rivett, Alan* | 9 |
| Rogers, Bill | 13 |
| Ryan, Buck | 6 |
| Ryman, Jim | 2 |
| Sanders, Billy | 67 |
| Sansom, Lou | 3 |
| Sawyer, Les | 1 |
| Schlam, Sig | 1 |
| Schlein, Rory | 10 |
| Scott, Jack | 7 |
| Sedgmen, Justin | 1 |
| Seers, Dick | 1 |
| Sharp, Jack | 14 |
| Sharp, Bob | 13 |
| Sharpe, Les | 8 |
| Shields, Adam | 6 |
| Shields, Dave | 1 |
| Shirra, Mitch* | 2 |
| Smythe, Dick | 10 |
| Spencer, Bert | 6 |
| Spinks, Charlie | 26 |
| Stewart Col | 1 |
| Stewart, Len | 1 |
| Street, Neil | 9 |
| Sullivan, Ryan | 33 |
| Sulway, Dick | 3 |
| Taylor, Alby | 2 |
| Taylor, Chum | 28 |
| Taylor, Glyn | 8 |
| Taylor, Ray | 4 |
| Thompson, Peter | 6 |
| Titman, John | 61 |
| Torpie, Kevin | 14 |
| Tremmeling, Nigel | 1 |
| Tulloch, Terry | 2 |
| Underwood, Doug | 2 |
| Valentine, Bob | 24 |
| Van Praag, Lionel | 54 |
| Vandenberg, Peter | 2 |
| Walsh, Ken | 3 |
| Ward, Darcy | 8 |
| Warren, Graham | 29 |
| Watson, Cliff | 14 |
| Watson, Noel | 4 |
| Watt, Davey | 18 |
| White, Doug | 7 |
| Wilkinson, Bluey | 63 |
| Wiltshire, Todd | 29 |
| Wise, Dick | 4 |
| Woods, Len | 2 |
| Woodward, Cameron | 1 |
| Wright, Keith | 1 |
| Young, Frank | 1 |
| Young, Jack | 32 |
Riders marked with an asterisk represented Australia but were not Australian.