According to Allan Border
Allan Border
This is not about that ‘Little Red Book’. Neither is it about the mercurial South African, highly rated and, in the opinion of many, the best batsman in the world. This piece concerns an Aussie who played 156 Tests, scored 11,174 runs with a highest of 205, made 27 hundreds and 63 fifties and ended with an average of 50.56 for good measure, he also took 39 wickets (best of 7/46) with his under-rated, little used left arm leg spin.
Constraints of time, plus a busy schedule meant that my chat with the Australian legend Alan Border, at the Pallekele Test match, had perforce to be brief. However, the genial, very accommodative Border said a mouthful.
Pointing out that the likes of Ricky Ponting, Adam Gilchrist, Glenn McGrath, Shane Warne, Damien Martyn and Michael Clarke had left the stage, he did agree that there was a drop in quality. It happens always. “Great sides come along every now and then.” This Aussie side has two, probably, three, batsmen who have made their mark. It is still an unfinished work. The batters have not been exposed to a lot of spin and they will consequently struggle in the sub continent. They have to learn on the job. It’s a hard leaving process. The Australian authorities send player from the A team to play in the sub continent. So, something is being done to rectify the situation.
Border points out that the ball turns at Sydney and Adelaide. Even Melbourne offered turn, at times. The soil and the structure at Perth are very different. That may account for its reputation as the quickest pitch in Australia. Drop-in pitches, a left over from the days of Kerry Packer, are used at Adelaide and Melbourne. At the Gabba, in Brisbane, the pitch has a good covering of grass. It’s good to bat on. But, the fast bowlers can obtain purchase. Commenting on the State of Australian cricket, Border tells that the domestic competition is very solid, and in good shape. It is producing good cricketers at International level. Crowd – attendance at tests and other games is good.
Rangana Herath, he enthuses, is a quality performer with a fantastic record. Perera is steady while Sanda….. unorthodoxy makes him dangerous and unpredictable. The youngster Mendis has patience and skill. He didn’t rush at it, but, rather, allowed the ball to come to him. The former skipper feels that the team lost their way against the Sri Lankan tail-enders and conceded too many runs. As far as the pitch at Pallekele is concerned, Border feels that it didn’t change much in character over the five days. There was a bit of variation in bounce. Border was obdurate, difficult to shift and good against spin. How the present Aussies must be hoping that he was with them in the trenches. Border was a World Cup winning skipper in the 1987/88 edition played in India and Pakistan.