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Allan Border or Javed Miandad?

Harsh Thakor

By Harsh Thakor
in Cricket Talk

Allan Border or Javed Miandad?  

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Harsh Thakor

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Allan Border or Javed Miandad? Arguably no 2 batsman have been so close together in International cricket as Alan Border and Javed Miandad.Both had an outstanding test match. batting record,averaging above 50 runs.However Javed Miandad had a better record in one day Internationals. Where Border scored over Javed was his overseas batting average,particularly in England and West Indies.Border was more effective in saving test matches.However it was Javed who was the more intimidating of the 2 stalwarts,always taking the fight to the opposition.Javed was more niggling than any batsmen of his era.Miandad had superior ability to improvise and was a match-winner in one day Internationals.At his best Miandad's talent would give him the marginal edge in turning a game like in 1987-88.It is significant that Viv Richards chose Javed with Greg Chappell and Sunil Gavaskar as the best batsmen of his era.However severals greats like Clive Lloyd and Malcolm Marshall selected Alan Border in their all -time teams.Few batsmen displayed such mastery against the great West Indian pace attack as Border did like in 1981-82 at home and in 1983-84 overseas.Border was also prolific on the seaming English tracks scoring over 500 runs in 2 Ashes the series as well as on the turning subcontinent tracks like in 1980 when he averaged 131.22.Border ranks amongst the 3-4 greatest batsman of all time in saving test matches Border also was one of the all-time great captains who revitalized the spirit of Australian cricket in one day and test cricket.He ressurected a demoralised but talented Australian unit into a world -beating force.It was Border who set the base for Australia re-claiming the world test title.In contrast Miandad was hardly as effective as a test captain,although he led his team to victory in England in 1992 and to a runner-up position in the 1985 World championship of Cricket. In one day Internationals Miandad outclassed Alan Border in run-chases and finishes and could be ranked with Viv Richards or Tendulkar. In my personal choice if I had to make a selection for a test team I would go for Javed by just a whisker as statistics do not tell the entire story.I give flair greater marks than pure mental resilience and feel that Javed combined both these qualities.He would be an ideal partner to Viv Richards,Tendulkar or Lara.Never forget Dennis Lillee placing Miandad amongst the top 6 batsmen he ever bowled to.However considering his better record Border would win my vote over Miandad overall as a test batsman.Border would overall rank ahead as a cricketer,with his enviable record as a captain. compiled from cricinfo: During that seven-year period from 1983-1989, Border was arguably the best batsman in the world - he scored the most Test runs during this period, and among batsmen who scored 3000 runs, only Javed Miandad had a higher average. Border's contribution during that period was even more critical because unlike in the last two decades, Australia didn't have an embarrassment of batting riches then: only three other batsmen scored more than 2000 Test runs over those seven years, of whom Geoff Marsh averaged less than 35. Things would soon get better with the advent of the Waugh brothers and Mark Taylor, but for much of that seven-year period Border didn't have a lot of batting support to bank on. He scored almost 17% of all Australian runs in this time, while David Boon, the next best, scored only about 10%. The other aspect that stands out about the table below is the number of batsmen who averaged more than 50. There were only three - Dilip Vengsarkar was the third - which is a huge contrast from today's times. Martin Crowe, Sunil Gavaskar and Viv Richards were all among those who averaged in the mid-to-late 40s during this period, which further accentuates Border's performance. Compiled from cricinfo(by S.Rajesh) Best Test batsmen between 1983 and 1989 (Qual: 3000 runs) Batsman Tests Runs Average 100s/ 50s Javed Miandad 53 4247 61.55 14/ 16 Allan Border 62 5168 60.09 14/ 27 Dilip Vengsarkar 51 3452 52.30 11/ 16 Gordon Greenidge 60 4257 48.37 12/ 15 Richie Richardson 45 3320 48.11 10/ 13 Martin Crowe 42 3107 47.80 10/ 11 Sunil Gavaskar 44 3038 46.03 9/ 14 Viv Richards 61 3720 45.92 11/ 20 Another unusual aspect of Border's career was his tendency to do much better overseas than at home. In the 86 Tests he played in Australia, he averaged 45.94; however, in the 70 matches he played overseas, Border's average was an excellent 56.57. He scored more hundreds away than at home, even though he played 16 more Tests in Australia than he did away. (Ricky Ponting, on the other hand, averages 60.08 at home and 48.44 away.) Apart from South Africa, where he played only three Tests towards the very end of his career, Border averaged more than 48 in each of the countries he played in. He was most prolific in England, averaging 65.06 in 25 matches. Quite surprisingly, his average at home against England was only 47.29. The stats were similar against West Indies - in 21 Tests at home against them he averaged a paltry 33.94, but in 10 Tests in the West Indies, his average rose to 53.06. That included arguably his best performance in a Test match, when he remained unbeaten in both innings in Port-of-Spain, scoring 98 and 100 in a match where no other Australian managed a half-century in either innings. Overall, Border remains one of the finest overseas batsmen. Best overseas Test batsmen, from 1960 onwards (Qual: 3000 runs) Batsman Tests Runs Average 100s/ 50s Ken Barrington 36 3459 69.18 14/ 14 Rahul Dravid 77 6569 57.12 17/ 34 Allan Border 70 5431 56.57 14/ 28 Steve Waugh 79 5217 55.50 17/ 20 Sachin Tendulkar 92 7429 55.44 26/ 30 Graeme Smith 40 3674 54.02 11/ 12 Jacques Kallis 63 4916 52.86 16/ 21 Sunil Gavaskar 60 5055 52.11 18/ 22 Mohinder Amarnath 37 3008 51.86 9/ 17 Viv Richards 73 5404 50.50 13/ 31 Alan Border home 1978-1994 86 145 20 5743 205 45.94 13 35 7 544 10 view innings away 1979-1994 70 120 24 5431 200* 56.57 14 28 4 617 18 remarkably Allan Border averages 11 runs less at home than away. Javed Miandad in contrast to Border averaged 16 runs less overseas than at home. home 1976-1993 60 86 13 4481 280* 61.38 14 17 0 view innings away 1976-1993 64 103 8 4351 271 45.80 9 26 6 Playing in a relatively weak Australian team for much of his career also meant Border had to deal with plenty of backs-to-the-wall situations, when the aim was to achieve a draw, not a win. It's a telling statistic that in the 156 Tests Border played, Australia won only 50 times. Ponting, by contrast, has already been on the winning team 97 times in 144 Tests. Of the 11,174 Test runs that Border scored, 45% came in drawn matches; of the 27 centuries he scored, only five came in wins, while 16 were scored in draws. Both those stats suggest Border excelled in saving games for Australia, and it's only fitting that some of his best innings came in those circumstances: in the fourth Test of the 1985 Ashes, his unbeaten 146 off 334 balls rescued Australia after they had fallen behind by 225 runs in the first innings; later that year in the Boxing Day Test against India he did even better, scoring 163 and inspiring Dave Gilbert to stick around for 65 deliveries. as Australia achieved a draw from a seemingly hopeless situation. Overall, Border's tally of 5084 runs in draws is next only to the aggregates of Gavaskar and Tendulkar, while not many have a higher average in draws than his 68.70. Highest averages in draws (Qual: 3000 runs) Batsman Tests Runs Average 100s/ 50s Mahela Jayawardene 29 3006 79.10 10/ 10 Jacques Kallis 33 3086 71.76 13/ 13 Brian Lara 36 3708 71.30 12/ 10 Wally Hammond 38 3614 70.86 12/ 12 Garry Sobers 36 3515 70.30 12/ 14 Rahul Dravid 52 4976 69.11 16/ 26 Allan Border 59 5084 68.70 16/ 27 Ken Barrington 39 3775 67.05 11/ 21 Sunil Gavaskar 67 6039 65.64 22/ 25 Sachin Tendulkar 66 5360 65.36 18/ 25 As a one-day batsman Border didn't achieve similar levels of success, but he had his moments, especially as a leader, when he inspired Australia to World Cup success in 1987. Border's own batting record in World Cups was startlingly poor - in 25 games he averaged 18.83 with a single 50-plus score - but that didn't hamper his leadership skills. He led Australia in 178 ODIs - which remains among the highest in ODI history - and won more than 61% of those matches, which is a relatively high success rate. To add to his considerable skills as batsman and captain, Border was also a more-than-handy left-arm spinner, and finished with 39 Test- and 73 ODI wickets. He didn't achieve as much batting success against West Indies as he would have liked, but with the ball he had his best moments against them. Both his five-wicket hauls in Tests came against West Indies, including a stunning match haul of 11 for 96 in Sydney in 1989, which was the only time he won the Man-of-the-Match award for his bowling. In all, 19 of his 39 Test scalps and 20 out of 73 ODI ones came against the Caribbeans. Alan Border home 1978-1994 86 145 20 5743 205 45.94 13 35 7 544 10 view innings away 1979-1994 70 120 24 5431 200* 56.57 14 28 4 617 18 remarkably Allan Border averages 11 runs less at home than away. Javed Miandad won match 1976-1993 39 56 7 2923 280* 59.65 10 11 2 view innings lost match 1977-1993 23 46 1 1339 129* 29.75 1 9 3 view innings drawn match 1976-1993 62 87 13 4570 271 61.75 12 23 1 view innings Alan Border won match 1978-1994 50 74 12 3186 200* 51.38 5 23 4 319 6 view innings lost match 1979-1994 46 92 9 2771 152* 33.38 5 13 7 287 5 view innings tied match 1986-1986 1 2 0 133 106 66.50 1 0 0 18 1 view innings drawn match 1979-1994 59 97 23 5084 205 68.70 16 27 0 537 16 view innings Miandad averages 8 runs more than Border in matches won which is significant,but 7 runs less than Border in games drawn.10 of Javed's 23 centuries resulted in wins while only 5 of Border's 27 hundreds won games. away 1976-1993 64 103 8 4351 271 45.80 9 26 6 . Edit/Delete Message

Number Grand Master

Number

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Allan Border. I don't understand why he is so underrated. He had great record against most teams in their backyard and some lion-hearted performances. But is rarely rated in the same breath as Viv or Sunny G.

FischerTal Experienced

FischerTal

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Border is better according to Ind fans despite the fact that Miandad averages more and took less # of innings per test hundred. Looks like the Sharjah six still haunts you.
Misbah's brain- fart in 2007 t20 World Cup made up for it :dontmentionit: Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Trichromatic Grand Master

Trichromatic

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Border is better according to Ind fans despite the fact that Miandad averages more and took less # of innings per test hundred. Looks like the Sharjah six still haunts you.
Border averages 56 in away matches JM averages 61 at home and 45 away. Home track bully Border in his 124 matches - 9193 runs at average of 52.53 and 23 hundreds
maniac Grand Master

maniac

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Border...Border...Border... :orderorder: Miandad avg 67.5 vs Ind so it has to be Border Only... at ICF at least...
Only 67.5 :sad: That's what happens when you pay the umpires for only 1 player :headshake:

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