Allan Border: 10 tales from his pre-captaincy days

Allan Border, born on July 27, 1955, is a legendary figure in Australian cricket. With 11,174 runs in 156 Tests, he finished as the leading run-scorer in the classical format, remaining at the top until Brian Lara overtook him. Border is best remembered for guiding an Australian side through a tough phase and putting it on the path to world domination. Nishad Pai Vaidya flips through ‘Allan Border: An Autobiography’ and picks 10 tales from his days before captaincy.

1. Paying the premiums

Border grew up playing backyard cricket with his brothers Johnno and Brett in their Sydney house. On the other side of their fence was an apartment block with numerous windows. The young boys kept breaking the windows by hitting the ball over the fence. The landlord of that building was compensated by Border’s father, who agreed to pay his insurance premiums whenever the boys broke the windows. “My guess of the total breakages would be, say, thirty,” Border said.

2. Baseball connections

In his young days, Border was not drawn to cricket with a strongl ambition to play for his country. Cricket was just another sport — like baseball or rugby. Initially, baseball appealed to the young Border. In later years, even as cricket took him places, his connections with baseball remained. His brother Johnno was a pitcher for New South Wales. The best man at Border’s wedding was the baseball player Marcus Sykes.

3. Mentorship of Barry Knight

Barry Knight, the former England Test cricketer, lived in Sydney and played a huge role in shaping Border as a cricketer. As a teenager, Border did not harbour huge cricketing ambitions and was simply enjoying his life. Knight made Border realise his talent and took great interest in his training regimes. As a result, Border grew in leaps and bounds — making it big in a few years. “He [Knight] taught me a great deal; not merely about cricket itself, but about attitude. I owe Barry Knight a huge debt of gratitude,” Border wrote.

4. Tricked as a 12th man

With some consistent performances in grade cricket for Mosman in 1975-76, Border was ushered into the New South Wales Colts unit, which featured some of the most promising cricketers in the state. It wasn’t an easy beginning for Border as he was the 12th man for the contest against Queensland. Border didn’t particularly enjoy the role and was also tricked by his teammates. As he kept carrying drinks through the game, one of his teammates told him that he should ask the men on the field about their eating preferences before the break. An inexperienced Border complied and was laughed by most players on the field. He returned to the dressing room quite embarrassed and remarked, “Six fish and six steaks, thanks.” “That’s how gullible I was,” he recalled.

5. Walking into the English dressing room after a dismissal

Border was picked in the Australian team in 1978-79 to play England and remained in the side even when the World Series Cricket (WSC) recruits returned to the mainstream. A year into international cricket, Border was up against the old foe at Perth when he committed the ultimate gaffe. He stormed off the field, unhappy at a leg-before decision and inadvertently walked into the England dressing room. It was by force of habit as Border was used to using the visitor’s dressing room at Perth during Shield games. He entered the dressing room, kicked his gloves and hurled expletives meant against the English. “I had just exhausted my vocabulary of expletives when the horrible truth dawned: I was in the English dressing room!” Embarrassed with it all, Border then apologised to the England manager and the other players before going to the home team’s designated room.

6. Apprehended by the Indian army

During the 1979 tour to India, the Australian team had a tour game in Srinagar, the capital of the State of Jammu and Kashmir. Given the sensitive situation in that region, Australia were given proper security for their visit. One night, Border wanted to scare Kim Hughes, but ran into a scary mess. “I was halfway along the catwalk between his [Hughes’] balcony and mine, three or four storeys up, when the Indian army intervened in the most dazzling way,” Border recalled. Immediately, the army had put a spotlight on him and asked him to surrender. “I froze. I knew immediately what terror was all about,” he said. However, he was allowed to go once he shouted that he was an Aussie cricketer. Border was then lectured by the Australian manager Bob Merriman and some of the locals of Srinagar the next morning.

7. Move to Queensland and giving up insurance job

Border had grown up in Sydney, New South Wales but decided to move to Queensland for a better future. As a youngster, he was trying to earn a living and balance it with his cricketing commitments. He worked as an insurance agent in Sydney until businessman Ron McConnell from Brisbane offered him a good package. Border only had a promotional role in McConnell’s business and earned a set salary with some other perks. Of course, he had to then change his loyalties to Queensland in the Sheffield Shield.

8. The heartbreak against England

The Ashes 1982-83 saw an amazing encounter at Melbourne, where England trumped Australia by a mere three runs in a dramatic finish. Chasing 292 to win, Australia were down and out at 218 for nine on the fourth evening. Border was going through a rough patch at the time and faced a huge ask with last man Jeff Thomson. The duo played out the fourth evening and added 37. With that glimmer of hope, they entered the final day, inching close to the total. With four to win, Thomson tried to play one from outside the off-stump and edged it. Chris Tavare dropped it at second slip, but it lobbed on to Geoff Miller, who pouched the ball comfortably to give England victory. Border was left stranded on 62 not out, an innings that possibly saved him the axe. Back in the dressing room, some players, which included Rodney Marsh and David Hookes, did not watch the whole passage of play. The previous evening, they had packed up expecting defeat and had spent their time in the club at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG). Being superstitious, they repeated the ritual the following day as Border and Thomson battled the English.

9. Stars in the eyes: Meeting Mick Jagger

During the 1981 Ashes in England, Border was introduced to the legendary Mick Jagger by Dennis Lillee. “Mick wanted to talk cricket and Woody [Graeme Wood] and I wanted to talk showbiz. We compromised and covered everything,” Border recalled. Later on the tour, Lillee took Border to a party, where Jagger was present. The Rolling Stones musician spoke to Border there again, leaving the youngster in awe. “I got a big kick out of the fact that one of the biggest names in the entertainment world had remembered me. I’d always been a Rolling Stones fan. Now I was even more so,” Border said.

10. The baton changes hands

Border had established himself in the Australian side and was Kim Hughes’ deputy. On November 26, 1984, Hughes took Border aside ahead of the last day’s play of the second Test against West Indies and handed him a paper. It was Hughes’ resignation from Australian captaincy and he wanted to speak to Border before announcing it. Border tried his best to stop Hughes but to no avail. He even went on to tell him that the team supported Hughes and that he should think it through. “I may have been the first person, other than Kim himself, to know of the decision and I guess that was fair enough. I was his close mate and vice-captain,” Border said. Later that day, Hughes had a tearful press-conference, where he announced that he was giving up the responsibility. Border was considered a natural successor and took on the role some time later, marking the beginning of a rewarding era that saw Australia tough great heights.

(Nishad Pai Vaidya is a Mumbai-based cricket journalist and one of the youngest to cover the three major cricketing events — ICC World Cup, World T20 and under-19 World Cup. He tweets as @nishad_45)