The article speaks about the great contribution of legendary batsmen Allan Border and Javed Miandad. They helped the countries in numerous victories both in Test Matches and One Day Internationals.
In the 1980s, Sir Vivian Richards and Sunil Gavaskar were the best batsmen in test cricket. After them Allan Border and Javed Miandad had the maximum consistency. Allan Border had scored 11, 174 runs in 156 tests with 27 centuries. He was the first batsman in the world to cross 11000 runs in test cricket. His average in tests was also impressive, it was 50.56. In 273 one-day internationals he scored 6,524 runs.
He left-handed cricket shots were showy also and many legends considered him as a stylish cricketer. His one-day average was 30. 62 with 3 centuries. He was instrumental in Australia’s first World Cup Cricket victory in 1987 under his captainship.
As far as Border’s record is concerned, there is credit because majority of his runs came as captain. He nurtured an Australian team which was new. The giants of cricket like Lillie, Thomson, Pascoe, and Greg Chappel, Yan Chappel had retired at that time. He started from scratch. Many of the players of the 1980s who became legends in 1990s, were nurtured by Border, the names include David Boon, Marsh, Dean Jones, Craig Mcdermott, Merv Hughes, and others. He captained Australia in 178 one-days and won 107 matches. He lost only 67 matches. He captained Australia in 93 tests, won 32 of them and lost 22 tests.
Javed Miandad was the other great right-hand batsman of that decade. In 124 tests, he made 8832 runs with 23 centuries. His average was 52.57. It was very decent average. In 233 one-days he scored 7, 381 runs with an average of 41.70. He scored 8 centuries in those matches.
Pakistan was at their best when Imran Khan captained the side from the mid-1980s. Javed Miandad was the greatest strength in batting for Pakistan in those days. Very significantly 3 of the 4 best batsmen in international cricket were 1st down batsmen, including Richards, Border and Miandad. Gavaskar was an opener. In addition to his array of strokes in the off-side and on side, he was known for brilliant running between the wickets. This art was introduced by Asif Iqbal and carried forward by Javed Miandad. He was also known for beautiful placing of the balls away from the fielders. He was considered the second best one-day batsmen in the 1980s after Sir Vivian Richards. He was instrumental in Pakistan’s solo world cup victory in 1992 under the captainship of Imran Khan. The new generation of cricketers have a lot to learn from Allan Border and Javed Miandad.
Coverage of Somers High School Lacrosse game versus Irvington on Saturday April 30 2016.
A parallel between two related games, which are exciting, highly entertaining and extremely popular in some parts of the world..
Rahul has upstaged even Tendulkar and now is a member of ICC Hall of fame. It's a pity that more Indians are not inducted into this elite category..