Nice piece on Boon in recent Cricketer newslatter
The easy way to rank captains is by adding trophies secured under their watch. Easy, but superficial. Leaders are dealt unequal hands so achievement is relative. And few triumphs match David Boon's in taking
Launching first-class life in 1992 with a group of golden oldies proving to be has-beens was an expensive, romantic mistake. Successive Championship finishes read bottom, bottom, second-from-bottom, next-to-bottom, and, without a win, bottom again. In 1996, they also propped up the Sunday League. "Disastrous," was Wisden's verdict on the campaign preceding Boon's arrival.
Boon certainly didn't need the job. He was 36, retired from international cricket and his reputation as a fearless top-order batsman was assured. So were his leadership credentials, with Tasmania. But the chance to transform a second windswept backwater simply appealed too strongly.
Boon was imperious:
David Boon walks out to bat for the last time in a First-Class match at Leicestershire's Grace Road. (Laurence Griffiths/ALLSPORT)
Waddling into the Riverside, he cut a squat figure who growled instructions in an intimidatingly deep voice. Shane Warne christened him the 'keg at short leg' for his shape, thirst, and deceptive athleticism. While Boon was humourless and begrudging on the field he never forgot how hard the game could be, especially for those making their way. Outsiders rarely gave him credit as a fine and flexible man manager.
Steve Harmison might have been lost to the game but for Boon's patience and understanding of homesickness issues. And if people thought his bite matched his bark, then he was happy to play on the reputation. Early on, he introduced a bedtime deadline of midnight. "It is not a curfew," he said, pausing theatrically. "But if it's broken we will see what happens."
Durham and Australia's David Boon one-day kit sitting on a throne of Fosters Lager ahead of the 1999 season County Season. (Photo by Stu Forster/Allsport/Getty Images/Hulton Archive)
Once, colleagues did take him on. Boon never understood the passion for football in the north-east. When an attempt to block players from attending the Newcastle v Sunderland derby at St James's Park drew protests he decreed that they could go, but not sport team colours. His face was puce on hearing of three chased from the ground wearing red and white.
On his first day in the field, Durham dropped three chances and allowed Lancashire's 10th-wicket stand to reach three figures. Boon, though, chiselled out runs the next day to show the commitment expected. The tide very slowly turned. In August 1997, they secured their first away win in any competition for two years, against Northamptonshire, thanks to inspired bowling by Mel Betts, whose figures of 9 for 64 were to prove the best of the season. Four came in a three-over spell after Boon pulled an unimpressed face and told him he looked weary.
They became harder to beat, and gradually began to look at the table from the top downwards. By the end of 1999, Boon was ensured his place in the folklore of a region not short of legends and chronicles, his bushy moustache as familiar as the beard of Northumberland's Bede.
He bequeathed a unit unrecognisable in its self-belief. To this day, the club tweets news of the former captain as though he belongs to them, not Australia.
The easy way to rank captains is by adding trophies secured under their watch. Easy, but superficial. Leaders are dealt unequal hands so achievement is relative. And few triumphs match David Boon's in taking
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from the rockiest bottom to the top flight of the Championship when it split into two divisions for 2000.Launching first-class life in 1992 with a group of golden oldies proving to be has-beens was an expensive, romantic mistake. Successive Championship finishes read bottom, bottom, second-from-bottom, next-to-bottom, and, without a win, bottom again. In 1996, they also propped up the Sunday League. "Disastrous," was Wisden's verdict on the campaign preceding Boon's arrival.
Boon certainly didn't need the job. He was 36, retired from international cricket and his reputation as a fearless top-order batsman was assured. So were his leadership credentials, with Tasmania. But the chance to transform a second windswept backwater simply appealed too strongly.
Boon was imperious:
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David Boon walks out to bat for the last time in a First-Class match at Leicestershire's Grace Road. (Laurence Griffiths/ALLSPORT)
Waddling into the Riverside, he cut a squat figure who growled instructions in an intimidatingly deep voice. Shane Warne christened him the 'keg at short leg' for his shape, thirst, and deceptive athleticism. While Boon was humourless and begrudging on the field he never forgot how hard the game could be, especially for those making their way. Outsiders rarely gave him credit as a fine and flexible man manager.
Steve Harmison might have been lost to the game but for Boon's patience and understanding of homesickness issues. And if people thought his bite matched his bark, then he was happy to play on the reputation. Early on, he introduced a bedtime deadline of midnight. "It is not a curfew," he said, pausing theatrically. "But if it's broken we will see what happens."
Logon or register to see this image
Durham and Australia's David Boon one-day kit sitting on a throne of Fosters Lager ahead of the 1999 season County Season. (Photo by Stu Forster/Allsport/Getty Images/Hulton Archive)
Once, colleagues did take him on. Boon never understood the passion for football in the north-east. When an attempt to block players from attending the Newcastle v Sunderland derby at St James's Park drew protests he decreed that they could go, but not sport team colours. His face was puce on hearing of three chased from the ground wearing red and white.
On his first day in the field, Durham dropped three chances and allowed Lancashire's 10th-wicket stand to reach three figures. Boon, though, chiselled out runs the next day to show the commitment expected. The tide very slowly turned. In August 1997, they secured their first away win in any competition for two years, against Northamptonshire, thanks to inspired bowling by Mel Betts, whose figures of 9 for 64 were to prove the best of the season. Four came in a three-over spell after Boon pulled an unimpressed face and told him he looked weary.
You must be logged on to see external links
They became harder to beat, and gradually began to look at the table from the top downwards. By the end of 1999, Boon was ensured his place in the folklore of a region not short of legends and chronicles, his bushy moustache as familiar as the beard of Northumberland's Bede.
He bequeathed a unit unrecognisable in its self-belief. To this day, the club tweets news of the former captain as though he belongs to them, not Australia.
David Boon: Durham captain 1997 - 199
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