- published: 17 Oct 2011
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Allan Robert Border AM (born 27 July 1955) is a former Australian cricketer. A batsman, Border was for many years the captain of the Australian team. His playing nickname was "A.B.". He played 156 Test matches in his career, a record until it was passed by fellow Australian Steve Waugh. Border still retains the world record for the number of consecutive Test appearances of 153 and the number of Tests as captain. He was primarily a left hand batsman but also achieved sporadic success as a part time left arm orthodox spinner. Border amassed 11,174 Test runs (a world record until it was passed by Brian Lara in 2005). He hit 27 centuries in his Test career. He retired as Australia's most capped player and leading run-scorer in both Tests and ODIs. His Australian record for Test Match runs stood for 15 years before Ricky Ponting overtook him during the Third Ashes Test against England in July 2009.
Border was one of the 55 inaugural inductees of the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame.
Born in Cremorne, a North Shore suburb of Sydney, New South Wales, Border grew up with three brothers in the nearby suburb of Mosman. His father John, from Coonamble in rural New South Wales, was a wool classer and his mother Sheila was the proprietor of a corner store. The family had a spacious backyard for playing games, and Mosman Oval, the home of district cricket and baseball clubs, was across the street. Border attended North Sydney Boys High School, and earned his leaving certificate in 1972.
Craig John McDermott (born 14 April 1965, in Ipswich, Queensland, Australia where he attended the Ipswich Grammar School) is a former Australian cricketer. He is currently the bowling coach for the Australian cricket team.
He was the spearhead of the Australian attack in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Red-haired, powerfully built at 191 cm, he was a sight to watch at full flight with his face painted with a horizontal line of white sun-screen across his nose and cheeks like Allan Donald of South Africa.
He started his career with Queensland in 1983–84 and made his Test match debut for Australia in 1984–85 whilst still 19 v West Indies (his youth engendering his nickname "Billy" – from Billy the Kid). In his first Ashes tour of 1985, he took 30 wickets. But he was over-bowled and was burnt out. He had an excellent World Cup in 1987, helping Australia win the trophy. He took 18 wickets in the tournament, including 5/44 in the semi-final win over Pakistan.
McDermott was a rhythm bowler. When his rhythm was right, he would have an aggressive approach to the wicket and an excellent sideways-on action, giving him sharp pace and outswing. But when his rhythm deserted him, he could look ordinary. He always saved his best for England, taking 32 wickets in the last full series that he was able to play before injuries took over. Injuries seemed to hit him at wrong times, and he missed the history making West Indies tour of 1995 and the 1996 World Cup. He also missed most of the 1993 Ashes tour when Shane Warne and Merv Hughes shared the spoils in his absence.