Allan Robert Border, who led Australia to their maiden World Cup victory, was born on 27 July 1955. His captaincy lifted Australia from its lowest point and transformed it into a dominant side. Border and Co. defeating England in the 1987 World Cup final marked the beginning of the golden period of Australian cricket.
Born in Cremorne, a North Shore suburb of Sydney, Border made his international debut in Test cricket in 1978 against England. He was primarily a left-handed batter, but occasionally worked as a part-time spinner. The Southpaw represented Australia in 156 Test matches and scored 11,174 Test runs – a world record until it was breached by West Indies’ Brian Lara in 2006.
He racked up these runs at an average of 50.56, including 27 centuries, two double centuries and 63 fifties. The left-arm orthodox bowler took 39 wickets in this format, including two five-wicket hauls and one 10-wicket haul. Coming to limited-overs cricket, Border has accumulated 6525 runs at an average of 30.63 including three centuries and 39 fifties in his 273 ODIs. He also has 73 wickets to his credit in the 50-over cricket.
In 1980, New South Wales cricketer became the first and only player to score 150 or more in both innings – a feat he achieved against Pakistan in Lahore. Border was named as Wisden Cricketer of the Year in 1981 for his scintillating performance in the Ashes series. He ended with 533 runs at an average of 59.2, including three centuries.
Border retired in 1994 as Australia’s most-capped player and leading run-scorer in both Tests and ODIs. Notably, he held the record for most Test runs for 15 years before Ricky Ponting surpassed him in 2009. He was one of the 55 inaugural inductees of the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame. He served as an Australian selector from 1998 to 2005 after retiring. He became a selector again in 2006 but retired from the role within months.