oh! perfect word from gooch to describe the class and calibre of allan border. what a wonderful player to have in crisis situation. he turned many defeats to draw for australia by his grit and determination. in 80's there was no australia vs west indies, it was allan border vs west indies.

@Harshthakor:-Testify brother!!! My favorite/favourite Aussie player of all time. Absolutely as tough as guts and a guy that radiated strength as Oz had to rebuild from WSC and retirements/rebel tours. My only criticism of him was that he under bowled himself. I hope Smith doesn't make the same mistake.

@Dunger.Bob:-That combo of Border and Miandad at the crease would have been so irksome it would have driven teams bonkers. I was a kid on holiday at Orewa beach when Border and Thommo dragged that game Gooch mentioned into the next day. That was I think along with Coney/Chatfield the most "riveting radio" I have still ever heard. In some ways perhaps superior even to the TV coverage of said.

@ HARSHTHAKOR: Amazing words mate.

Goochy is spot on about Border laying the first brick in our best ever team. He laid the foundation and struck the template. We were very lucky to have the right attitude coincide with a stable of players who could execute it. .. Border was a rocky island in a stormy ocean. He and Miandad would have to be the two most obstinate cricketers to have ever played the wonderful game.

Alan Border often reminded you of a soldier battling in a war against all odds,ressurecting a batallion from the grave He possessed the tenacity and grit of a military commander and when the chips were down could surpass the likes of Viv Richards or Greg Chappell.Border was equally prolific on the fast bouncy pitches of West Indies and Australia,the seaming English conditions and on the turning sub-continent pitches.What was remarkable is that he averaged 56 runs overseas 11 more than he did at home.My most memorable moments of Border are his 2 ,150's in 1980 in Lahore on a turning track in Pakistan ,his match-saving 100 and 98 not out at Trinidad in 1984 and his unbeaten 123 at old Trafford in the 1981 Ashes.In a crisis Border was one of the greatest batsmen of all time and neck to neck with Javed Miandad in his era.I would rank Border behind just Bradman,Greg Chappell and Ponting amongst Australian batsmen .

I would club Alan Border with batsmen who championed a crisis overshadowing greater or more talented batsmen in their day .This list includes Steve Waugh,Ian Chappell,Javed Miandad and Rahul Dravid.Watching Border grind away in a crisis or on bad wicket was a lesson for any schoolboy.He reminded you of a surgeon performing an operation and above all never played for hos own interests ,always placing his team's interest ahead.When his wished he had the ability to go on the rampage.Border was one of the greatest champions in a losing cause and in saving a match.Javed Miandad was better in keeping the scoreboard ticking while Dravid could turn the course of games more to win a game than Border.However Border was more prolific against great pace bowling than either of them.

Overall Border may just be nosed by the likes of Greg Chappell,Ricky Ponting and Rahul Drvaid to be ranked amongst the top dozen batsmen of all time.Still on bad wicket he would have overshadowed all of them.

Alan Border often reminded you of a soldier battling in a war against all odds,ressurecting a batallion from the grave He possessed the tenacity and grit of a military commander and when the chips were down could surpass the likes of Viv Richards or Greg Chappell.Border was equally prolific on the fast bouncy pitches of West Indies and Australia,the seaming English conditions and on the turning sub-continent pitches.What was remarkable is that he averaged 56 runs overseas 11 more than he did at home.My most memorable moments of Border are his 2 ,150's in 1980 in Lahore on a turning track in Pakistan ,his match-saving 100 and 98 not out at Trinidad in 1984 and his unbeaten 123 at old Trafford in the 1981 Ashes.In a crisis Border was one of the greatest batsmen of all time and neck to neck with Javed Miandad in his era.I would rank Border behind just Bradman,Greg Chappell and Ponting amongst Australian batsmen .

Only one choice for a player to bat for my life as far as I'm concerned - Kenny Barrington