Allan Border: My Story

[footyfan1978]

If you wanted someone batting for your life...its AB

His 98 and 100 no at Port of Spain against the Windies in 84 arguably the best two innings by an aussie batter in the last 50 years

Crazy stuff. Probably up there with the Kim Hughes innings in Melbourne a few years earlier. I wish we were able to see more of that 98.
Basically only radio coverage of that tour and maybe 90 seconds on Sports section on the tv news.

 

[010203]

I loved his attitude on the 89 tour with no Wives or partners allowed.

Showed that he was totally sick and tired of losing and some extreme measures had to be put in place, despite the inevitable backlash

Didnt get much sleep that winter of 89 - so good were we that I stayed up every night till 4:00 AM watching every minute of those tests..

For those who can remember back that far, one question....how the hell did Derek Pringle ever play test cricket ???

Same here but there's no way he could get away with that in this day and age.

 

[Plugger35]

I loved his attitude on the 89 tour with no Wives or partners allowed.

Showed that he was totally sick and tired of losing and some extreme measures had to be put in place, despite the inevitable backlash

Didnt get much sleep that winter of 89 - so good were we that I stayed up every night till 4:00 AM watching every minute of those tests..

For those who can remember back that far, one question....how the hell did Derek Pringle ever play test cricket ???

That was the first Ashes series in England that I remember watching, pretty sure that was the first time Ch9 televised an Ashes series there and there was no pay tv options or internet streaming back then to watch overseas test series so if it wasn't shown on FTA then there was no way of watching it.

As for Derek Pringle I was always mystified why he got to play so many tests for England, he was one of those typical England all rounders of that era who wasn't a good enough bowler or a good enough batsman to play test cricket but somehow being not good enough at both still got them a test gig.

 

[Gough]

1987 World Cup was the first time I can remember cricket from the sub continent being shown here, likewise the 91 Calypso Cricket tour of the West Indies.

 

[Sphynx]

Both Gower and Botham were great mates with Border, he was the only Aussie player back then that was on the same level playing field as them.

You judge a man by the company they keep and Border kept the best company.

Gower and Botham played multiple Ahes series against Greg Chappell, Lillee, Marsh, Hookes etc.


Greg was a better batsman than Gower ever hoped to be.

The best player in that English side wasn't Botham or Gower, it was Willis.

 

[Sphynx]

100% this. Batted for over 10 hours combined

Jeff Dujon, upon shaking AB's hand at the end of the match said 'I wish I could play like that'

I know Knighthoods aren't bestowed on Australians any more but if the likes of Alistair Cook can be knighted, then surely AB deserved to.

Knighthoods were discontinued in 1986.

He was admitted into the Order of Australia honors system (which was a bigger deal back then) in 1986 and made an Officer after the 1989 Ashes Series win.

He probably would have been knighted if it wasn't abolished.

Given 6-7 of the great West Indian cricketers of the 70's/80's have been Knighted, if I was to guess:

Lillee
G.Chappell
Border
Steve Waugh
McGrath
Warne
Gilchrist
Ponting


Would have all likely been knighted under the old system imo.

Steve Smith would be a modern monty.

 

[Gough]

Gower and Botham played multiple Ahes series against Greg Chappell, Lillee, Marsh, Hookes etc.


Greg was a better batsman than Gower ever hoped to be.

The best player in that English side wasn't Botham or Gower, it was Willis.

That Gower cover drive though. His 100 in the 90/91 Boxing Day Test is in the my top 5 innings I've been lucky enough to see live.

 

[Sphynx]

That Gower cover drive though. His 100 in the 90/91 Boxing Day Test is in the my top 5 innings I've been lucky enough to see live.

He was an elegant player, but to say Border was the only Australian player on his level he played against is complete crap.

Greg Chappell is on the Mt Rushmore of Australian batsman with Bradman, Ponting and Smith.

 

[Gough]

He was an elegant player, but to say Border was the only Australian player on his level he played against is complete crap.

Greg Chappell is on the Mt Rushmore of Australian batsman with Bradman, Ponting and Smith.

In the mid 80s he was.

 

[Sphynx]

In the mid 80s he was.

David Boon, Dean Jones and Steve Waugh all played against Gower in 1986, in addition to Border.

Boon made 3 more tons than Gower from 10 less tests.

Dean Jones is one of the greatest white ball cricketers ever and averaged almost 47 at #3 in one of the toughest era's of all time.

Waugh was an all-rounder then, but the talent was obvious.


All easily on Gowers level.

 

[big_e]

Knighthoods were discontinued in 1986.

He was admitted into the Order of Australia honors system (which was a bigger deal back then) in 1986 and made an Officer after the 1989 Ashes Series win.

He probably would have been knighted if it wasn't abolished.

Given 6-7 of the great West Indian cricketers of the 70's/80's have been Knighted, if I was to guess:

Lillee
G.Chappell
Border
Steve Waugh
McGrath
Warne
Gilchrist
Ponting


Would have all likely been knighted under the old system imo.

Steve Smith would be a modern monty.

Australian of the Year for 1989, too.

 

[Westend]

The only knock I have against AB is that he should of bowled himself more

Was a very good SLO

 

[Plugger35]

He was an elegant player, but to say Border was the only Australian player on his level he played against is complete crap.

Greg Chappell is on the Mt Rushmore of Australian batsman with Bradman, Ponting and Smith.

I was talking about that mid 80s period after Chappell, Lillee and Marsh had retired and before Australia became a dominant team again in the 1990s.

In the 1985 Ashes series it was virtually England vs Border and a bunch of battlers like it was when they played the West Indies or even NZ back then.

 

[Rabish Binney]

1987 World Cup was the first time I can remember cricket from the sub continent being shown here, likewise the 91 Calypso Cricket tour of the West Indies.

The Jubilee Ashes series in 1977 was broadcast live back to Australia. I remember sitting up all night watching as an 11 year old (or listening to it on the radio in my room if mum said I had to go to bed).

Distinctively remember Craig Serjeant getting 81 at Lords in the (and his) first test. Thought at the time that this bloke would go on to be a world class batsman....

For those of you about my age, Number 96 & The Box were still on the TV back then as well

 

[Sphynx]

I was talking about that mid 80s period after Chappell, Lillee and Marsh had retired and before Australia became a dominant team again in the 1990s.

In the 1985 Ashes series it was virtually England vs Border and a bunch of battlers like it was when they played the West Indies or even NZ back then.

You can only be referring to one series in a 16 year career then, 1985, which makes the comment even more ridiculous.

In 1986, Dean Jones and Steve Waugh averaged 45+ in the Ashes series, Boon was also playing. In 1982 he toured with Lillee, Chappell, Thomson, Marsch, Hookes and Hughes

Border played with a "bunch of battlers" for about 18 months in 16 years.

 

[Plugger35]

You can only be referring to one series in a 16 year career then, 1985, which makes the comment even more ridiculous.

In 1986, Dean Jones and Steve Waugh averaged 45+ in the Ashes series, Boon was also playing. In 1982 he toured with Lillee, Chappell, Thomson, Marsch, Hookes and Hughes

Border played with a "bunch of battlers" for about 18 months in 16 years.

I'm not just talking about stats I'm talking about stature in the game, Border was the only one that had a similar stature in the game to Gower and Botham where they had been test players since the late 70s and by the mid 80s were stars of the game and household names in Australia and England.

Even in the 1986/87 Ashes series which England won comfortably the likes of Boon, Jones and Waugh were still lesser lights compared to Border, they only started to get to the same level as him in the 1989 Ashes series where Border didn't need to carry the team on his shoulders as much as he used to

 

[footyfan1978]

1987 World Cup was the first time I can remember cricket from the sub continent being shown here, likewise the 91 Calypso Cricket tour of the West Indies.

Both correct. But not sure it was a full coverage of the 1987 World Cup.
Maybe only got the final live and one or two others matches.

1991 tour of West Indies was first overseas proper coverage of a tour outside of the England for us.
Showed all the one dayers and then the Tests.
Probably my favourite overseas tour to follow in my youth.

 

[Altum Volantes]

Enjoyed the doco…but it was more just a snap shot of that era in Australian cricket. Admittedly AB was a big part of that it but I felt it lacked a lot of insight into the man himself - wouldn’t have taken much to frame it slightly different and call it ‘Australian Cricket in the mid 80s to mid 90s’.

 

[Blue1980]

AB was there for the 1995 tour as a commentator. So least he was there when it finally happened. Hopefully he had a few drinks with the boys that night after the commentary stint was done with. Border's whole career basically was at the worst time possible to be trying to beat the West Indies.

Should of brought AB back for the WI series this season, just so he could be part of a winning side against them.

 

[Blue1980]

I loved his attitude on the 89 tour with no Wives or partners allowed.

Showed that he was totally sick and tired of losing and some extreme measures had to be put in place, despite the inevitable backlash

Didnt get much sleep that winter of 89 - so good were we that I stayed up every night till 4:00 AM watching every minute of those tests..

For those who can remember back that far, one question....how the hell did Derek Pringle ever play test cricket ???

England used 29 players that series, much of that due to the rebel tour being announced halfway through (though they were already stuffed by then).

Many of those 29 very questionable to why they were ever near a test side, including those picked before the rebel tours announced,

 

[Blue1980]

1987 World Cup was the first time I can remember cricket from the sub continent being shown here, likewise the 91 Calypso Cricket tour of the West Indies.

1990-91 summer was my first following cricket, so the 1991 tour to the windies was a big deal for me, with the Windies reputation, remember waking up 3am seeing Gus Logie having to retire hurt with Craig McDermott running rampant.

 

[Blue1980]

He was an elegant player, but to say Border was the only Australian player on his level he played against is complete crap.

Greg Chappell is on the Mt Rushmore of Australian batsman with Bradman, Ponting and Smith.

I agree, but I think it was more mid 80s era it refers to (85-87). Wasn’t the case in 1982-83 or by 1989.

 

[Blue1980]

You can only be referring to one series in a 16 year career then, 1985, which makes the comment even more ridiculous.

In 1986, Dean Jones and Steve Waugh averaged 45+ in the Ashes series, Boon was also playing. In 1982 he toured with Lillee, Chappell, Thomson, Marsch, Hookes and Hughes

Border played with a "bunch of battlers" for about 18 months in 16 years.

Deano maybe Gower level, certainly a better ODI batsmen. Steve Waugh didn’t make a ton until 1989 ashes.

 

[Blue1980]

Both correct. But not sure it was a full coverage of the 1987 World Cup.
Maybe only got the final live and one or two others matches.

1991 tour of West Indies was first overseas proper coverage of a tour outside of the England for us.
Showed all the one dayers and then the Tests.
Probably my favourite overseas tour to follow in my youth.

It was a great series, and as i mentioned in another post.

I was 10 at the time, we weren’t that far away, it was just a few key moments here and there which took it away from us. Richie Richardson blitzing in Guyana test 2, Grenidge in test 4.

The bamboo covers leaking and setting pitch on fire to dry it in the first test denied us a classic in the making.

If we had 1993 era warne on that tour, it could of been enough to tip the scales. Still their pace bowling was formidable, with Marshall still around and Patrick Paterson blasting out the tail, meaning we were often 5 out all out.

 

[big_e]

England used 29 players that series, much of that due to the rebel tour being announced halfway through (though they were already stuffed by then).

Many of those 29 very questionable to why they were ever near a test side, including those picked before the rebel tours announced,

The 29th player was John Stephenson. One writer said "by the time John Stephenson was picked in 1989, England's selection policy resembled one of those bingo machines in which numbered balls are blown up a tube at random."