Not just a Borderline case

Australian batting great Allan Border believes Kane Williamsons men are thoroughly capable of beating Australia in the threematch Test series that opens with the pink ball Test in Perth today Border was captain of Australia when the Kiwis beat their neighbours in a Test series for the first and last time mdash in the Australian summer of 198586 mdash Borders first full home season as skipper His favourable comments on the New Zealanders are based on the fact that the Kiwis have done well to be placed at No 2 in the Test rankings with India leading the packThey are not the superstartype blokes but they get the job done They hunt as a pack very well theyre a really good solid unit It definitely is their best chance to win a series since 85 because theyve got most bases covered as a team he said on Fox CricketNew Zealand have not lost a Test series since South Africa won 10 in 201617 after which they played West Indies England amp Sri Lanka twice Pakistan and Bangladesh That said Australia will pose a big challenge ditto the fitness of the NZ players And the first ball they face or deliver will be the first of the tour So much for preparation and acclimatisation But as Border said the other day I rate them very highlytheyre scrappers Although Border went on to be one of the finest captains Australia produced the Kiwis of 198586 gave him a torrid time His team was at the receiving end of hardnosed opponents led by Jeremy Coney and assisted in no small measure by the redoubtable Richard HadleeConey the tall allrounder had big shoes to fill replacing Geoff Howarth who save one series against Pakistan had led New Zealand since 197980 Howarth ended his career as one of two captains to beat Clive Lloyds allconquering West Indians in a Test series Greg Chappell was the other Captaincy was a childhood dream for Coney who made his Test debut against the Australians in Sydney way back in 1974 as a replacement callup for the injured Glenn TurnerFormer allrounder Lance Cairns included a fascinating story on Coney in his book Give It A Heave where he revealed that his teammate arrived in Australia for his debut series ill equipped in the true sense of the term He Coney bought with him one club bat with a broken handle He had one pair of cricket boots with the sole of one boot taped up one pair of whites one shirt Cairns wrote Team manager Bob Vance felt sorry for Coney and gave him 100 to buy some gear but he bought himself a 12stringguitar insteadAnyway when it came to 198586 Coneys New Zealanders were on song right from the first Test Like most series in Australia the series opened at the Gabba in Brisbane where Coney put the opposition in Hadlee thrived as he was expected to do in overcast conditions and after Australia ended the day with 146 for four Hadlee allowed them to score only 33 runs the next morning before they were bowled out for 179 He claimed nine for 52 which may have prompted his musicloving captain to hum Leo Sayers 1974 hit One Man BandThe conditions became easier for batting and New Zealands decent batting lineup was not going to throw it away Martin Crowe put his Duncan Fearnley Magnum bat to full use and carved 188 in authoritative style and put on 224 with John Reid for the third wicket Coney declared at 5537 and the Australians did better in the second innings with 333 thanks to centuries by Border and new boy Greg Matthews But that was not good enough to stop Hadlee 671 this time and an innings defeat The Kiwis had given us a nice old bath We could not have imagined a worse way to start an international summer Border wrote in his 1986 autobiographyAustralia hit back in the next Test at Sydney where they won by four wickets They had a better spin attack for the turning pitch in Ray Bright Matthews and Bib Holland New Zealand fielded John Bracewell and Stephen Boock While Holland claimed 10 wickets in his home Test David Boon shrugged off his first innings duck to score 81 in pursuit of the 260run target The New Zealanders wouldnt have been proud with the way they handled the turning ball but Bracewell and Boock were mighty chuffed over their 124run 10th wicket stand in the first inningsBorder felt that his team had come to grips with Hadlees bowling and said so before the third and final Test at Perth He regretted it because Hadlee heard those comments and claimed 11 one short of his predicted dozen in New Zealands six wicketwin which earned them their first ever series win over Australia It was achieved on a poor relaid Perth pitch but Coney was not complaining While the loss caused Border to wonder whether he was the right man to lead his country Coney recalled his cricket scrapbook daysYou dream that one day maybe I will be captain of New Zealand and maybe it will be a winning side Today was the realisation of that dream Coney told the mediaIt was a summer that provided very little joy for the hosts on the Test match front and the World Series Cup triangular series win New Zealand and India were the other two teams provided some solace to the underfire captainNew Zealands competitive veins show up unfailingly and Border knows it all too well having played 23 Tests and 52 ODIs against them No wonder he is convinced that Kane is ablemiddays group sports editor Clayton Murzello is a purist with an open stance He tweets ClaytonMurzello Send your feedback to mailbagmiddaycomThe views expressed in this column are the individuals and dont represent those of the paperCatch up on all the latest Crime National International and Hatke news here Also download the new midday Android and iOS apps to get latest updates