Mister Wright
Cricket Web: All-Time Legend
Alan Border for me. Great player and great captain.
Bastard and prick aren't filtered TBH but attempting to avoid the filter ain't the wisest idea.b*stards
pr*ck
I'm not totally sure Border fits in with the mid-1970s glory days TBH - Border's first Tests as a first-choice were in 1979/80, after he'd initially debuted during the Packer Schism. The glory days of McCosker, Redpath, the Chappells, Walters, Marsh, Lillee, Thomson, Walker, Gilmour and Mallett, when Australia were indeed up with most of the best sides there's ever been, were before his time. By the time Border became a first-choice, Australia were being beaten by the by then comfortably superior West Indies, though it's fair to say that '79/80-'83/84 (with several of the above still playing) they were certainly the second-best in The World. With the exit of Greg Chappell, Marsh, Lillee, Hughes, Yallop, Wessels, Hogg and Alderman, a more fallow phase was entered where Border was indeed the shining light. But his no-nonsense approach was certainly not a universal sight in the early days of his captaincy - his inspiration for the 1989 Mr Angry approach was derived from his experiences in 1985, where he felt that his being over-chummy with the likes of Gower and Botham contributed to his team's failings. In reality, I feel it had far more to do with the fact that the likes of O'Donnell, Gilbert et al were simply nowhere near as good as Alderman, Lawson, Hughes etc.That Australian team of the 70s, to me, was as great as the Australian sides of the early 00s. They flogged England in 1974/75 and demolished a wonderful West Indian side in 1975/76. The thing I particularly liked about those sides was that they played their cricket hard but fair. If the opposition claimed a catch, they didn't stand their ground, they left the crease. But they were aggressive and confrontational. Then Lillee, Greg Chappell and Rod Marsh retired and Australia was crippled. Who was left? Just Alan Border.
That, to me, is why Alan Border was so important to Australian cricket - he was the last of the hard uncompromising players from the 70s.
I'm not really sure that placing the game above the life of a player is a terribly desireable or respectable quality in a captain, or anyone else for that matter. Border seems to agree, thankfully, given that he's stated he realised he'd gone too far in Chennai in '86/87 and that he felt incredibly guilty and remorseful seeing Jones in hospital on a drip, realising he'd almost killed him. If Border had realised the true height of what he was doing to Jones, he'd not have done it.The main attribute I respected about Border was that became whatever his side needed. If that meant they needed a grumpy captain, that's what he'd be. If it meant damn near killing Dean Jones in India, then he'd do it.
I'm aware of that, I was just trying to be polite and in one example I was quoting Ian Chappell, But I accept your point.Bastard and prick aren't filtered TBH but attempting to avoid the filter ain't the wisest idea.
I wasn't saying Border was apart of the glory days of 70s cricket in Australia... rather he was the very last of a kind of player for a while. After the Packer split he was part of a side that had Lillee, Chappell and March if only for an instant... and then they were gone! Here the Aussie selectors are saying, "Here, you're the captain of this new young team." It was his job to teach the young players about the baggy green and admittedly it took time for him to become good at that job - it was a big load at the time.I'm not totally sure Border fits in with the mid-1970s glory days TBH - Border's first Tests as a first-choice were in 1979/80, after he'd initially debuted during the Packer Schism.
I agree, it took time for Border to turn into captain grumpy.But his no-nonsense approach was certainly not a universal sight in the early days of his captaincy - his inspiration for the 1989 Mr Angry approach was derived from his experiences in 1985, where he felt that his being over-chummy with the likes of Gower and Botham contributed to his team's failings. In reality, I feel it had far more to do with the fact that the likes of O'Donnell, Gilbert et al were simply nowhere near as good as Alderman, Lawson, Hughes etc.
not sure i would attribute even part of the west indian decline in recent years to lara's failure/inability to hold the fort and energize them back up...i think it shows a difference between the two cultures...border was gritty, determined and a huge factor in the aussie resurgence but the basic aussie grit, fierce pride in sporting performance and their excellent first class structure had a fair bit to do about it as well...the west indians have a comparatively more laid-back culture and a disparate group of island nations which come together mostly for cricket(also resulting in the lack of a solid, cohesive cricketing infrastructure), even during the years of the great west indian teams, i feel it was an abundant overflowing of talent that set them apart, not the aussie-style grit...plus what i understand is that good athletes now focus more on other sports like basketball which offer substantially more money...in my opinion of course from what i have understood about these countries...let me know if i am way off course...Border fought and used a lot of his personal example to push the team slowly upwards from near rock bottom. He ensured that the team did not completely disintegrate in what can be termed a cricketing 'depression' of the type West Indies cricket has faced and Lara has proved unequal to pull them out of.
I'm not entirely sure I agree with that. In the first half of Border's captaincy Australia were utterly wretched and lost virtually everything but in the second half they actually won most of what they played. I don't consider Border a captain from the very top of the tree but consider this:Border, for all his toughness, didn't really get his team to win anything exceptional or above expectations. He lost all his series against the West Indies, and outside of Australia could only beat weak teams like New Zealand and England.
Haha, you what? Aside from being captain while Aus went from easy-beats to at least competitive with the WI there's the small matter of the WC win in 1987 and Ashes in England, where Aus hadn't won for ages, in 1989. Considering the batters and bowlers he had at his disposal, I'd say he did pretty well.Taylor and here's why. Captaincy is based not in terms of numbers of wins and losses but in achievements, and getting the best of your team when faced with a real challenge.
Border, for all his toughness, didn't really get his team to win anything exceptional or above expectations. He lost all his series against the West Indies, and outside of Australia could only beat weak teams like New Zealand and England. He was a fairly conservative captain.