A different Border?

[Victor Ian]

Let's just presume this team happened....

Australia XI:
1 V Trumper
2 M Hayden
3 D Bradman C
4 G Chappell
5 A Border
6 K Miller
7 A Gilchrist +
8 R Lindwall
9 S Warne
10 D Lillee
11 G McGrath

If Border had have played in this team, instead of having to have led the team he had, I think he could have been a very different player than the one we all love him for. I really only started to follow cricket after Kim Hughes' tears, but I had heard the early Border was an attacking player with flair. While I could imagine all of the other players not changing much in this team, I imagine Border would have turned out very different - the only one. Yeah, Nah? Worth a discussion?

Would he have been the one struggling for his spot, and due to his mental fortitude, have gone and done a Steve Smith and stepped up to be the second best bat in the team? Would he have performed sub par because he would never have had to grind out an innings?

 

[Burgey]

TOTAB is the greatest Australian cricketer since Bradman and would have been so in any team. But yeah would have most likely played differently in this line up

 

[TheJediBrah]

Dunno about the actual question but would have been a solid team just quietly

 

[Victor Ian]

TOTAB is the greatest Australian cricketer since Bradman and would have been so in any team. But yeah would have most likely played differently in this line up

Yeah. That is how I'm seeing it. I'm seeing Border as an attacking player with lot's of flair. You would have watched the young Border - who played in a team he could depend on to do their job. What was he like? But leave it for another day if you like. Tonight is probably not the best night for remembering.

 

[Spikey]

TOTAB is the greatest Australian cricketer since Bradman and would have been so in any team. But yeah would have most likely played differently in this line up

you've only got a couple more years before this claim is over

 

[Red]

Yeah. That is how I'm seeing it. I'm seeing Border as an attacking player with lot's of flair. You would have watched the young Border - who played in a team he could depend on to do their job. What was he like? But leave it for another day if you like. Tonight is probably not the best night for remembering.

His debut in tests was in probably the weakest test side Australia ever fielded, during WSC. Later he played with Chappell, Lillee, Marsh and Thommo, when WSC ended, but they were in the twilight of their careers.

Always thought the opinion that Border was stodgy and a grafter was unfair. I really enjoyed watching him bat. Had a great cover drive and played some great lofted straight drives.

 

[Gob]

you've only got a couple more years before this claim is over

Yeah it seems only a matter of time till Lyon gets there

 

[Immenso]

I never thought of Border as a grafty stodger either.

Just because he was gutsy in some at times weak batting lineups, and brave v Windies pace quartet does not make it mutually exclusive that he could have flair (or just be a normal paced batsman for his era).

When I think of the classic strong batting lineup that emerged in his late career 89 onwards; they all pretty much batted at the same pace.

Marsh & Taylor the graft.
Boon, Border, Jones and S Waugh all pretty similar, combining a bit of flair with some backbone. With Jones a tad more aggressive that the other 3.

 

[stephen]

In this team border would barely get a bat since there would be a ton of declarations at 2/600

 

[Coronis]

In this team border would barely get a bat since there would be a ton of declarations at 2/600

True. But in all likelyhood whenever he does come in the score will already be ridiculous and he can just have fun with Miller and Gilly.

 

[GotSpin]

In this team border would barely get a bat since there would be a ton of declarations at 2/600

In a hypothetical match up they're also playing against ATGs though

 

[Burgey]

AB’s 60 odd on day one of the first test in 89 is still spoken of by the other batsmen in the team as the defining moment of that series. Came in and took them on from ball one.

 

[Victor Ian]

I love any excuse to relive that series. Rain really hurt Australia that series. It's amazing to think that Australia really were likely to have won that series 6-0 if not for rain ruining two wins where Australia had the runs on the board.

 

[Red]

There's a good two hours of 89 Ashes highlights on Utube. We took England apart that series.

 

[robelinda]

His 153 in 180 balls in a test against Pakistan wad amazimg, 5 sixes.

 

[Victor Ian]

His 153 in 180 balls in a test against Pakistan wad amazimg, 5 sixes.

I think that is the one where he scored 150 in the first innings. Do you have footage of that one. I'd give an arm and a leg (someone else's of course) to watch that.

 

[AndrewB]

I love any excuse to relive that series. Rain really hurt Australia that series.

Yeah, must have been a nightmare for you...

 

[oblongballs]

Border played a few sterling knocks throughout his career but I don't think he ever had flair. Some batsman are work man like, some have that exciting flair. Smith for example goes about with efficiency but little style, whereas Kohli is quite different to that.

I think Border would never have been the most stylish batsman around because that was not how he learned and honed his craft. Absolutely nothing wrong with that. And who's to say he would have picked up as many runs as he did if he had been? I rank him Australia's 4th best batsman but maybe he wouldn't even have cracked a top 10 if he had been the type to play a stylish game.

 

[Immenso]

What does "stylish" mean though?

IMO, the Aussie top 6 of 1989 of
Marsh
Taylor
Boon
Border
Jones
S Waugh

Marsh was the most 'stylish' to my eye, eg smoothest classical technique. But he was also the slowest of that 6.

Boon was the most unstylish in that 6 but the second most aggressive.

 

[oblongballs]

What does "stylish" mean though?

IMO, the Aussie top 6 of 1989 of
Marsh
Taylor
Boon
Border
Jones
S Waugh

Marsh was the most 'stylish' to my eye, eg smoothest classical technique. But he was also the slowest of that 6.

Boon was the most unstylish in that 6 but the second most aggressive.

Stylish is a batsman that looks good while batting. Every cricket fan can subconsciously understand what that looks like, an elegant cover drive, the ability to switch from fron tto back foot and back again, the ability to cut and hook fast bowlers and control the ball while doing it, etc. Some of the truly special batsmen can combine that with being aggressive, e.g. Ponting, Tendulkar, Abbas, Yousuf, Lara, Sanga to name some.

The opposite of stylish would be Smith. Not to say he is a bad batsman, far from it but not stylish and really, he shouldn't be.