australia's profiles
Alan Border
At the time of his retirement, former Australian captain, "AB", held the record for the most runs ever scored by a Test batsman (11,174 runs) and was Australia's most capped player and leading run-scorer in both Tests and One Day Internationals. Today, he is still one of only five cricketers in the world to surpass 10,000 runs in their Test career and one of a select few who can claim to have been named a Wisden Cricketer of the Year in 1982. Captaining Australia 93 times, Border was recognised as a strong, powerful and well respected leader. Since retiring as a player, he has been a coach, selector and commentator and was named Australian of the Year in 1989. His contribution to cricket in Australia is recognised annually with the Australian Cricketer of the Year receiv ing the Allan Border Medal.
Dennis Lillie
Australia's most consistent fast bowler during the 1970s and early 1980s, Lillee was known
for his 'never-say-die' attitude and was a favourite with cricket fans all around the world.
By the time he retired from international cricket in 1984, he had become the world
record holder for most Test wickets (355) and had firmly established himself as one of the
most recognisable and renowned Australian sportsmen of all time. Playing 70 Tests and
63 One Day Internationals, Lillee captured fiv e wickets in a Test innings on 23 occasions
and claimed 10 wickets in a Test match sev en times. A Wisden Cricketer of the Year in
1973 and named in Australia's Test Team of the Century and the Hall of Fame in 2002,
Lillee is currently the President of the Western Australian Cricket Association Board.
Mark Waugh
Mark Waugh or "Junior" is known as being one of Australia's most gifted stroke-makers
with a particular ability against spin bowling. Retiring with a Test batting av erage of
41.81, he remains Australia's second highest run-scorer in One Day International cricket
and is widely regarded as one of the greatest One Day International openers of all time.
A Wisden Cricketer of the Year in 1991, he offered handy medium-paced and off-spin
bowling and was an incredible fielder, often making spectacular sav es and catches. He
retired as the world record holder for most Test catches (181), scored 8029 Test runs and
took 59 Test wickets. Waugh also racked up a massiv e 8500 runs during his One Day
International career and made four centuries ov er the 1996 and 1999 Cricket World
Cups.
Jeff Thomson
Jeff "Thomo" Thomson is one of the fastest bowlers to have ever played Test cricket.
With a distinctive slinging action, he bowled with blistering speed, his fastest recorded
deliv ery measuring 160.45 km/h. Opening the bowling with fellow fast bowler Dennis
Lillee, their partnership was one of the most fearsome in Test cricket history. Racking up
200 Test and 55 One Day International wickets, Thomson terrorised batsmen throughout
the 1970s and early 1980s with his lethal bouncers and sheer pace. In the 1974/5 season,
Thomson took 33 wickets against the English touring side and backed this up with a
further 29 wickets against the West Indies in a six-Test series in 1975. Thomson retired in
1985 in England after 51 Tests.
Dean Jones
"Deano" made his test debut for Australia against the West Indies in 1984. Until his
retirement in 1992, Jones played 52 Test matches for Australia, scoring 3,631 runs,
including 11 centuries at an av erage of 46.55. A Wisden Cricketer of the Year in 1990,
Perhaps his most remembered innings will go down as his third Test appearance in 1986
in India when he scored 210 and was hospitalised from exhaustion after his innings.
Jones was also one of Australia's most successful batsmen in One Day International
matches scoring 6,068 runs in 164 matches, including sev en centuries and 46 half
centuries, at an av erage of 44.61. A mainstay of the Australian middle order for ov er six
years, he was noted for his electric running between the wickets, outstanding fielding
and aggressive batting especially against fast bowlers.
Damien Fleming
Damien Fleming is known as one of Australia's premier pace bowlers and an expert in
the art of swing bowling. The "bowlologist" played 20 Test Matches for Australia,
claiming 75 wickets at an average of 25.89 and took a hat-trick on his Test debut
against Pakistan in 1994. He was a valuable One Day player appearing in 88 matches
(including the 1999 World Cup victory) and amassing 134 wickets. He will be
remembered for his composed bowling performance at the World Cup semi finals in
1996 and 1999 against the West Indies and Pakistan respectively. Known to play the
occasional incredible late-order innings, he retired in 2003 to take up a coaching role at
the Adelaide cricket Academy and has since dev eloped a career as a media
commentator.
Darren Lehmann
Darren "Boof" Lehmann, an aggressive left-handed batsman and useful left-arm
orthodox spin bowler, played his first one-day international in 1996 and made his first Test
appearance in 1998, when he scored 52 runs on debut. A talented first-class cricketer,
with an impressive average of 57.72, he has had enormous success for his English
county, Yorkshire, and for South Australia. He is now the leading run scorer in Sheffield
Shield/Pura Cup history. One of his best career moments came when he scored 301
against Western Australia on his home ground, The Adelaide Oval. A Wisden Cricketer
of the Year in 2001, Lehmann's famously unconv entional batting technique served him
well, as he scored 1,798 runs in just 27 Tests and 3,078 runs in 117 one-day internationals.
Michael Bevan
Widely regarded as one of the finest batsmen to play limited overs cricket, Michael
Bevan has a first-class batting average of over 58 and is one of only three players with
30 or more one-day international innings to his name to maintain an average of above
50. Nicknamed "The Finisher" for his ability to guide Australia to v ictory after rare toporder
collapses, one of his most famous innings was during a one-day international
against the West Indies in 1996. His unbeaten score of 78, accumulated ov er 150
minutes, brought the Australians victory with the last ball of the innings, having been
6/38 chasing 173. Bevan retired in January 2007, hav ing scored a total of 6,912 runs in
one-day internationals and with an amazing career average of 53.58.
Stuart Law
Stuart Law, a solid middle-order batsman and handy right-arm spin bowler, is a superb
first-class cricketer who holds the record not only for most runs and most fifties in a
season, but also for the most fifties for Queensland (78 in total). After captaining
Queensland to their first-ev er win in the Sheffield Shield, and to a further fiv e wins, Law
was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia in January 2007 for his serv ices to
cricket. Laws one-day international career started in 1994 and spanned 54 matches.
He played his first and only Test match in 1995. Law now resides in England where he
played first for Essex and now for Lancashire. He has been a prolific run scorer for both
counties, passing 1,000 runs in each English season from 1999-2003 (in 2003, he scored
1,820 runs at an average of 91). He was named a Wisden Cricketer of the Year in 1998.