Allan Border and Sunil Gavaskar have cemented themselves in cricket folklore with so many outstanding achievements during their stellar Test careers, so it’s fitting Australia and India play for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy when their Test series kicks off in Adelaide next Thursday.
It’s also fitting both will be on commentary duty.
Gavaskar (69) is the senior by six years, but their extraordinary feats over long careers make fascinating reading.
Gavaskar was a trail-blazer, starting with his first series as a 21-year-old pocket-rocket opening batsman in the Caribbean in 1971, plundering 774 runs in five Tests at an astonishing average of 154.80.
It’s worth recalling his individual scores – 65, 67*, 116*, 64, 1, 117*, 124, and 220 against a Windies attack of Gary Sobers, Lance Gibbs, Vanburn Holder, Keith Boyce, and Uton Dowe.
The 774 runs in the series is still a record for a debutant, no need to add; so is the 154.80.
Gavaskar was the first to crack the 10,000 Test-run barrier, the first to score a century in both innings of a Test three times, and the first to 30 Test tons.
Yet he was only five-foot, five-inches tall, playing in the pre-helmet era.
Even though he was peppered with short stuff, his footwork was superb, and he could play shots all round the park with consummate ease, and timing.
I was privileged to bowl at him regularly at the nets on his second tour – the Rest of the World in Australia 1971-1972 replacing the banned South African tour, following the apartheid Springbok rugby tour in 1971.
What stood out was there was never any daylight between bat and pad, his defence was like Fort Knox.
But he saw the ball so early to judge line and length, he seemed to have hours to play the right shot, invariably off the sweet spot.
Indeed a trail-blazer.
There was an amusing moment on that Rest of the World tour.
The Pollock brothers – Graeme and Peter – were late arrivals, and I was in the SCG dressing room after a net session when Graeme called over Sunny, as he was known then, saying he had a new bat for him.
What Sunny didn’t know Graeme used a heavyweight bat, more like a telegraph pole – Sunny just burst out laughing, he couldn’t even lift it.
Richard Hutton, son of Sir Leonard, was on that tour, and asked if he could use it against NSW at the SCG.
Given the nod, next day Hutton faced fast bowler Dave Renneberg.
Sunny, and Hutton, couldn’t believe his first defensive shot that he called “no” speed to the fence in a nano-second, as did the second defensive shot.
Hutton was eight off two, and hadn’t left the crease – Rennberg wasn’t impressed.
The third delivery was a searing bouncer that Hutton went to hook, but the bat was so heavy he couldn’t get it above his shoulder – and he wore it.
A smiling Sunny said – “That wouldn’t have worried me, it would have sailed over my head standing erect”.
Allan Border was special as well.
I had taken a huge interest in him at Mosman net practice, he lived across the road facing the ground.
A short, but solidly built kid in his early teens wearing shorts, he patrolled the northern end of the ground returning the longer hitters with a bullet left arm, honed by baseball.
Little was he to know, and nor did I, that years later I talked Mosman Council into renaming the picturesque ground the Allan Border Oval in recognition of his international milestones.
Border was the first to break the 11000-run barrier, and when he retired he had played the most consecutive Tests (153), the most Tests (156), had captained his country in a record 93 Tests, and taken the most Test catches with 156.
In the process, Border became the first to score 150 in each innings of a Test, and that was against Pakistan in Lahore with 150, and 153*.
Border wasn’t naturally gifted like Gavaskar, but Border treasured his wicket like no other, keeping within his range of shots he could control to accumulate runs.
He had a ticker bigger than Phar Lap.
If there’s a trophy more aptly named, other than the Ashes, I’ve yet to come across it.
The Border-Gavaskar Trophy stands tall, and coveted.
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