19 Facts about Allan Border: Captain Grumpy

According to some, it takes more than a single post to epitomize the impact made by Allan Border in cricket. A gutsy and tough individual in his prime, Border has faced and sustained some of the worst and deadliest bowling attacks of his time. Moreover, the fact that he led Australia through what was perhaps their most troubling time in cricket speaks volumes about his character. That said, here are a few interesting facts about Allan Border, the best there ever was.

1. The chieftain of Cremorne:

Allan Robert Border was born on the 27^th of July 1955 in Cremorne, New South Wales, Australia.

2. Pugsley:

Border’s nicknames include A.B, Pugsley, and Captain Grumpy

3. The proud Australian:

Allan Border was a player who exuded the pride of Australia and made the Australian cricket team his home for almost all his cricketing career. It was as though he knew a code, the code being the Baggy Green cap, something Border has defended for most of his playing career.

4. The King of Kings:

Allan Border was not the most flamboyant of players. In fact, it was this level of ‘boring cricket’ that allowed Border to be the determined self that he usually is. He was quite effectively the King of Kings and was instrumental in shaping the attitude and aggressiveness of the Australian team that plays today.

5. The West Indies Kryptonite:

Holding, Garner, Roberts, and Marshall. These names would send shivers down the spine of many a cricketer. However, when it came to facing these players, Allan Border never shied away from the pace. Of course, he would have been smashed on the body multiple times, however, the big scores he made against them is an epitome of his guts, grit, and character. Even Joel Garner has gone on to attest the same.

6. The un-natural skipper:

Not a natural leader, nor a man of frills, he came reluctantly to the captaincy in a dark age for Australia after Kim Hughes’ tearful resignation at Brisbane in 1984-85, but eventually applied himself to the task as proudly as to his batting.

7. The magic of ‘Both’:

The third Ashes Test of the 1981 edition played at Headingley was a groundbreaking one on many levels. Apart from the magic of Botham, Allan Border has gone on to state that this was perhaps the worst moment in his entire cricketing career.

8. The Gease:

Allan Border kept a nickname for their bus driver in the 1981 edition of the Ashes series as ‘The Gease’ since the bus driver called everyone the Geaser.

9. Success before fame:

While most of the modern day players chase fame, Border was one who wanted to be successful ahead of fame. He remains to be one of the players who was against the so-called ‘washbag culture’ of being rewarded for doing anything special.

10. Kerry Packer’s cheque:

Border is one of the few players of his era who didn’t play the World Series Cricket tournament organized by Kerry Packer. Instead, he stayed loyal to the establishment and became an important member of the squad.

11. Nerves of steel in Guyana:

Under the leadership of Kim Hughes, Allan Border’s grittiest innings came in Guyana where he smashed an unbeaten century against a fearsome West Indies pace attack, allowing Australia to escape with a draw.

12. Mike Gatting’s gambit:

Allan Border’s bowling performance in the 1987 World Cup final in Calcutta will be forever remembered in the history of World Cup cricket. Border’s left-arm spin removed the England skipper Mike Gatting who was out to a soft dismissal courtesy of cricket’s riskiest shot – ‘The paddle sweep’.

13. Kim Hughes and the ‘A’ team:

Kim Hughes and Allan Border were perhaps the greatest of mates when it came to playing cricket in Australia. However, when Hughes left the establishment to join Australia’s rebel tour of South Africa, he had a terrible standoff with Allan Border following Hughes’ statement dubbing the Rebels as the Australia ‘A’ team.

14. The overseas master:

Border’s performance overseas is perhaps much better than most Australians and it remains unclear whether his impeccable stats overseas have been eclipsed or not.

15. The Border-Gavaskar series:

The India-Australia rivalry in cricket is usually referred to as the Border-Gavaskar series. The Test series usually takes place once every three years.

16. The Border-Simpson bond:

In an attempt to share Border’s workload, and guide the rebuilding of the team, the ACB decided to appoint a permanent coach for the team. Former Australian captain Bob Simpson was sounded out, and he accompanied the team on the 1986 tour of New Zealand as an observer. He accepted the position and his first tour with the team was to India later in the same year.

17. The stifling heat of Chennai:

Allan Border was the skipper when India played host to only the second Tied Test match in Test cricket’s illustrious history. The Australians picked up the wicket of Maninder Singh when the scores were tied in the fourth innings.

18. Another Brick in the wall:

If there was ever a wall for Australian cricket, it would have been Allan Border. The latter still holds the record for most consecutive matches. The former record was surpassed by Steve Waugh.

19. Captain Grumpy:

Allan Border earned the tag ‘Captain Grumpy’ after he set his sights on winning the 1989 edition of the Ashes. Of course, he can sometimes be a miserable person to deal with. However, the fact that he did it out of pure determination to win the Ashes back was something that can be seen as forgiving. Australia went on to claim the 1989 edition of the Ashes 4-0.