Allan Border was a critic of Steve Smith’s behaviour during this year’s series loss to India. Australia’s longest-serving captain explains to DANIEL CHERNY how the tourists must attack the Ashes.
Border famously gave England the cold shoulder during the 1989 Ashes tour, a trip that ended with a comprehensive 4-0 series win and the Aussies regaining the urn.
Australia’s longest-serving captain was a critic of Steve Smith’s behaviour during the series loss to India earlier this year, questioning the merits of Smith giving a thumbs up to Indian bowlers when beaten outside off-stump.
The man dubbed ‘Captain Grumpy’ said he had no problems with Aussie players being chummy with opponents off the field, but urged Pat Cummins’ team to maintain distance in the middle.
“You can have that friendly rivalry without being excessively – like Smithy got with the thumbs up every time he got a good ball. I thought that was just a bit over the top. You’re in a contest out there, you can be best buddies and go out for a feed that night,” Border told CODE Sports.
“I’d be playing with a harder edge. Some people like being Mr Nice Guy. I could quite easily be the dropkick. It doesn’t bother me.
“The people that know you well, know that’s game day. I maybe took myself a bit too seriously at times, but that’s the way I preferred to play the game, play hard, play fair and then when it’s all said and done you go say well done to the opposition, well done to us.”
Allan Border was not a fan of how Steve Smith and Australia carried themselves in India. Picture: Robert Cianflone/Getty Images
Border said it was not the Australian way to be affable on the field.
“I don’t go for the excessive matey sort of stuff. They might be best buddies, play in the IPL together,” Border said.
“Being Mr Nice Guy, that’s New Zealand. They play that card, we’re not New Zealand, we’re the Aussies. We play a certain style of cricket. Hard, fair cricket. The Kiwis, they’re the ones that play the goodie two shoes but then they try to beat the shit out of you.”
Border noted there was no reason why on-field hostilities should prevent players from socialising together away from the game.
“I’ve got a lot of good friends that I played cricket against (from) England,” Border said.
“(In) ‘89 I thought we had to play the game a certain way.
“There was a big deal made of it, but I’m still very good mates with (Ian) Botham and (Mike) Gatting and (David) Gower and all those blokes. We have a little bit of a laugh about it now, that I didn’t go into the rooms and have a beer with them at that stage.”
Allan Border and Mike Gatting got along away from the field. Picture: Allsport/Getty Images
Border’s remarks about NZ share parallels with the cultural review into Australian cricket that followed the Cape Town ball tampering scandal of 2018.
The report said that: “Australian players have a reputation for aggressive sledging, and it appears that behaviour that would usually be described as bullying or harassment is used as an instrument of the game. Some current players think that it is an essential part of the kit they need to win. As one elite player replied when asked about the decision by New Zealand’s national team to stop sledging: ‘ … and how are they (New Zealand) going …?’”
NZ would ultimately go on to contest the next World Cup finals in both one-day international and Twenty20 cricket and win the inaugural WTC final against India in 2021.