Allan Border
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Allan Robert Border (born July 27 1955 in Sydney, New South Wales) is a former Australian cricket captain. His playing nickname was "A.B.". He was the first batsman to score 11,000 runs in Tests. He played 156 Tests in his career, a record until it was passed by another Australian, Steve Waugh.
He was a primarily a left hand batsman but also achieved success as a slow left arm orthodox bowler. Border played 156 matches for Australia with 11,174 runs at an average of 50.56. His best bowling was 11/96 against the West Indies in 1989. He hit 27 centuries in his Test career, which is 6th all time.
His debut for Australia was against England in 1978. He retired from international cricket in April 1994.
Although Border was a fiercely determined batsman, and a useful bowler, his biggest influence on the game was his captaincy. Taking over from Kim Hughes when the side had lost experienced players and was performing poorly, he rebuilt the Australian side in partnership with innovative coach Bob Simpson. He gained a reputation as a gruff yet effective leader (he was referred to as "Captain Grumpy" in the English press), but early on his side struggled. Eventually the stability of Border's lead-from-the-front style paid off, as talented young players were introduced into the side and given a chance to settle. Ultimately, Border was able to mould the Australian Test side into one that would become the best team in the world under his successor, Mark Taylor.
World records held at the time of his retirement
- top run scorer at 11,174 runs, a record held until November 2005, when it was passed by the West Indian Brian Lara (see: List of Test cricket records)
- most Test matches played (156) and most consecutive Test matches played (153). Border still holds the record for most consecutive matches.
- scored more fifties (63) and more scores of at least 50 (93) than anybody else
- captained Australia 93 times (all consecutive).
- in Pakistan in 1980, he became the first player to score 150 in both innings of a Test match.
- most Test catches by a fieldsman (156); record since passed by the Australian Mark Waugh.
He was one of the Wisden Cricketers of the Year in 1982.
Allan Border wrote an autobiography entitled "Beyond Ten Thousand: My Life Story", which was published in 1993.
After he retired from Test cricket he played in Queensland's maiden Sheffield Shield win, was named 12th man in Australia's Team of the Century, and became an Australian selector. The Australian Player of the Year now receives the Allan Border Medal with the inaugural Allan Border Medal being won by Glenn McGrath in 2000.
Two cricket fields have been renamed in Border's honour. The first is in Mosman, a suburb of Sydney, and is the home ground of the Mosman District Cricket Club for whom Border played club cricket before his move to Queensland. The second Allan Border Oval is in his adopted home state of Queensland and has hosted numerous domestic first class and limited over matches.
In the year 2000 he was inducted into the prestigious Australian Cricket Hall of Fame.
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External links
- CricInfo Player Profile : Allan Border
- Mashhur.com - History of the 1987 Pakistan v Australia World Cup Semi Final
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Categories: 1955 births | Living people | Australian ODI cricketers | Australian Test cricketers | Australian batsmen | Australian cricket captains | Australian cricketers | Essex cricketers | Gloucestershire cricketers | New South Wales cricketers | People of Sydney | Queensland cricketers | Wisden Cricketers of the Year