66 Facts About Allan Border

Allan Robert Border was born on 27 July 1955 and is an Australian cricket commentator and former international cricketer.

Allan Border played 156 Test matches in his career, a record until it was passed by fellow Australian Steve Waugh.

Allan Border formerly held the world record for the number of consecutive Test appearances of 153, before it was surpassed in June 2018 by Alastair Cook, and is second on the list of number of Tests as captain.

Allan Border was primarily a left hand batsman, but had occasional success as a part-time left arm orthodox spinner.

Allan Border retired as Australia's most capped player and leading run-scorer in both Tests and ODIs.

Allan Border was one of the 55 inaugural inductees of the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame.

In 2009 as part of the Q150 celebrations, Allan Border was announced as one of the Q150 Icons of Queensland for his role as a "sports legend".

In 2016, Allan Border was a recipient of the Queensland Greats Awards.

Allan Border's father John, from Coonamble in rural New South Wales, was a wool classer and his mother Sheila was the proprietor of a corner store.

Allan Border attended North Sydney Boys High School, and earned his leaving certificate in 1972.

Allan Border played for Mosman Baseball Club, where he developed his fielding and horizontal-bat shots.

Allan Border compiled 36 and took the last three catches of the match, as his team claimed victory.

Allan Border resigned from his job as a clerk in the film library of BHP to spend the 1977 English season playing for Downend in the Gloucestershire Western League.

Allan Border then returned to England and played for East Lancashire Cricket Club in the Lancashire League, scoring 1191 runs at 56.71 and taking 54 wickets at 18.60.

Allan Border made 29 and was run out for a duck in the second innings while attempting a single.

Allan Border used his feet to the spinners as his teammates struggled to cope with the turn.

Allan Border made 85 and 66 not out as Australia squared the series with a victory in Perth.

Allan Border scored 521 runs at 43.42 in the Test series, including 162 in the First Test at Madras, where he displayed excellent footwork and handled the Indian spinners much more effectively than his teammates.

Allan Border had done so in only 354 days, the fastest ever by an Australian, and made more runs in his first year as a Test cricketer than anyone before.

Allan Border was unable to maintain this form and ended the season with 317 runs at 31.70 in six Tests against England and the West Indies.

In 1981, Allan Border made his first Ashes tour and scored a half-century in each of the first two Tests.

Allan Border reached a century in 377 minutes, the slowest Test hundred by an Australian, and remained unbeaten on 123 as Australia lost the match.

Allan Border scored 118 runs at 23.60 as Pakistan won all three Tests.

Allan Border then scored 89 and 83 in the Fifth Test at Sydney to secure a drawn match and Australia regained the Ashes.

Allan Border scored 118 and 117 not out in the Second and Third Tests respectively, and averaged just under 86 as Australia won the series comfortably.

Consequently, Allan Border, who was now captain of Queensland, became Australian vice-captain to Kim Hughes for the tour of the West Indies in the northern spring of 1984.

In poor light and on a bouncy wicket, Australia had slumped to three for sixteen when Allan Border came to the crease.

Allan Border finished unbeaten on 98 in a total of 255.

Allan Border again resisted, but Australia slumped to nine for 238, just 25 runs in front, when Terry Alderman joined Allan Border.

Australia lost the final three Tests, but Allan Border ended the series with 521 runs at 74.73.

The tide turned somewhat when Allan Border led the team to a draw and then a win in the final two Tests, but his own form suffered, and he averaged only 27.33 for his 246 runs.

Allan Border distinguished himself in the one-dayers, though, by savaging an attack comprising Michael Holding, Joel Garner, Malcolm Marshall, Winston Davis and Viv Richards for 127 not out off 140 balls at the SCG.

Furthermore, there was no obvious replacement if Allan Border quit as captain.

Allan Border accepted the position and his first tour with the team was to India later in the same year.

The other two Tests were drawn, and Allan Border finished the tour with 245 runs at 81.66.

Allan Border hit 205 in the drawn Second Test at Adelaide, his highest Test score which took him past Greg Chappell as Australia's highest run-scorer.

Allan Border had consciously fashioned a more aggressive approach to the captaincy.

Allan Border set the tone for the series with attacking innings of 66 and 60 not out in the First Test.

Allan Border was named the 1989 Australian of the Year for his part in helping Australia regain the Ashes.

Allan Border ended the season with 328 runs at 41, with five half-centuries.

Allan Border maintained his consistency with the bat by scoring 275 runs at 55.00, although he again failed to make a century.

Allan Border's last had been in Pakistan in 1988, a statistic that drew comment from those who criticised his leadership of the team.

Allan Border scored 110 in the Second Test before Shane Warne produced his first great Test bowling performance by taking seven for 52 in the second innings to win the match for Australia.

Allan Border sprang to his feet and hurled his ball into the floor.

Australia was crushed by an innings within three days, Allan Border recording the first pair of his first-class career.

In 1993, Allan Border became the first player since Joe Darling to lead Australia in England on three Ashes tours.

The series was sealed at Headingley in the Fourth Test when Allan Border made 200 not out.

Allan Border scored 105 in the Third Test on his home ground at Brisbane.

Allan Border ended his career by leading the first Australian team to play a Test series against South Africa in 1994 after their return to international cricket.

Allan Border's final Test innings was an obdurate 42 not out that helped secure a draw in the Third Test at Durban.

Allan Border had a modest time with the bat, accumulating 298 runs at 33.11.

Allan Border is commonly agreed not to have been an especially attractive or flamboyant cricketer, and accordingly he is remembered more for his rugged graft and admirable fight than for any aesthetic depth.

Allan Border became a less aggressive player because in his early days as a captain, he had next to no supporting cast with any experience in international cricket.

Allan Border stood in a baseballer's crouch, bat raised, ready to hop backwards and pull or cut the short ball.

Allan Border was a capable bowler, but, as captain, he underused himself, but he does have a tendency to bowl around the wicket, aiming outside off stump and bowling short.

Ultimately, Allan Border left his successor Mark Taylor with a side that went on to be the best in the world.

Allan Border] was able to expunge many of the prejudices and preconceptions amongst his team-mates about playing cricket in the Third World [which] was another of the outstanding legacies of his captaincy.

Yet while Allan Border developed, under duress, personal leadership skills, which Lara never did, he was never as glamorous as the man who took his world record.

Allan Border was one of the Wisden Cricketers of the Year in 1982.

Allan Border served as an Australian selector from 1998 until his resignation from the panel in 2005.

Allan Border became a selector in 2006 only to step down four months later due to his growing business commitments.

Allan Border wrote an autobiography entitled Beyond Ten Thousand: My Life Story, published in 1993.

Allan Border became a Member of the Order of Australia in 1986, and an Officer of the Order of Australia in 1989.

Allan Border was inducted into the Sport Australia Hall of Fame in 1990, was named Queenslander of the Year in 1994, and received an Australian Sports Medal in 2000.

Allan Border was named an Australia Post Legend of Cricket in 2021.

In 2009, Allan Border was inducted into the Queensland Sport Hall of Fame.