David Clarence Boon MBEThe Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
(born 29 December 1960), nicknamed Boony, is a former
Australian cricketerThe Australian cricket team is the national cricket team of Australia. It is the joint oldest team in Test cricket, having played in the first Test match in 1877...
whose international playing career spanned the years 1984–1995. A right-handed batsman and a very occasional off-spin bowler, he played
First-class cricketFirst-class cricket is a class of cricket that consists of matches of three or more days' scheduled duration, that are between two sides of eleven players and are officially adjudged first-class by virtue of the standard of the competing teams...
for both his home state Tasmania and English
countyCounty cricket is the highest level of domestic cricket in England and Wales. For the 2010 season, see 2010 English cricket season.-First-class counties:...
side Durham.
Known for his portly figure and distinctive moustache, Boon scored over 7,000 runs at Test level, and made over 100 appearance for both the Test and One Day International Australian side. After leaving the international game he went to England to captain Durham before retiring to become a national selector.
Early life
The son of Clarrie and Lesley, David Boon was born in the Northern
TasmaniaTasmania is an Australian island and state. It is south of the continent, separated by Bass Strait. The state includes the island of Tasmania—the 26th largest island in the world—and the surrounding islands. The state has a population of 507,626 , of whom almost half reside in the greater Hobart...
n city of
LauncestonLaunceston is a city in the north of the state of Tasmania, Australia at the junction of the North Esk and South Esk rivers where they become the Tamar River. Launceston is the second largest city in Tasmania after the state capital Hobart...
on 29 December 1960. His younger sister Vanessa was born in 1964. His father Clarrie worked in a newsagency in Launceston, while his mother Lesley represented Australia at hockey before working with Clarrie at the newsagency after David was born. When David was approximately six years old his family moved from South Launceston to a house connected to his parents' newsagency in the Launceston central business district. The family returned to South Launceston when David was in
secondary schoolSecondary school is a term used to describe an educational institution where the final stage of schooling, known as secondary education and usually compulsory up to a specified age, takes place...
.
1978–1984: Tasmania debut
At the age of 17, Boon made his first-class debut for Tasmania during the state's second season of Sheffield Shield cricket, 1978-79. Englishman Jack Simmons was coaching in Launceston at the time and was also captain of the Tasmanian team. He pushed the youngster forward as a possible Test player and mentored him during a long apprenticeship at first-class level. Boon later acknowledged Simmons by naming his son after him.
Wisden wrote, "Boon's achievement in becoming a fine Test player from a state which at that stage was still to enter the Sheffield Shield [sic] is strong evidence of his singular determination". He was a key player in Tasmania's surprise victory in the 1978-79 Gillette Cup, Australia's domestic limited-overs competition.
1984–1986: International debut
Boon made his international debut in the third final of the 1983-84 World Series Cup between Australia and the West Indies. He scored 39 from 71 balls for the losing team and had to wait almost twelve months for another opportunity. A good performance for the Prime Minister's XI in 1984-85 led to Boon's Test debut, against the
West IndiesThe West Indian cricket team, also known colloquially as the West Indies or the Windies, is a multi-national cricket team representing a sporting confederation of 15 mainly English-speaking Caribbean countries, British dependencies and non-British dependencies.From the mid 1970s to the early 1990s,...
at
BrisbaneThe Brisbane Cricket Ground, commonly known as The Gabba, is a major sports stadium in Brisbane, the capital of Queensland. It is named after the suburb of Woolloongabba, in which it is located....
. He stood up well to the pace of the West Indies' bowlers and scored 51 in the second innings, batting at number six. After the match,
Kim HughesKimberley John Hughes is a former cricketer who played for Western Australia, Natal and Australia. He captained Australia in 28 Tests between 1979 and 1984 before captaining a "rebel" Australian team in a tour of South Africa, who at the time were subject to a sporting boycott.A right-handed...
resigned the captaincy of Australia. Boon played two more Tests in the series, and was then trialled as a middle-order batsman in eight ODIs during the World Series Cup. His top score was 55, and he was omitted from the team for the finals.
Selected for the Ashes tour of England in 1985, Boon's batting disappointed. He struggled to cope with spin bowling due to slow footwork and passed fifty only once in the first four Tests. He was subsequently omitted from the side for the last two Tests in the series. Australia lost the series 1-3. Returning to the team for the 1985-86 Test series against New Zealand, Boon batted at number three and top-scored with 81 in the second innings of the second Test at Sydney as Australia successfully chased a target of 260 to win. However, this series was lost as well.
Promoted to opener
Australia had long-standing problems finding a successful pair of opening batsmen. After
Kepler WesselsKepler Christoffel Wessels is a former South African cricketer who captained South Africa after playing 24 Tests for Australia. He was the first man to have played One Day International cricket for two countries....
quit the team in mid-summer, Boon was promoted to open with debutant
Geoff MarshGeoffrey Robert Marsh is a former Australian cricketer, coach and selector. He played 50 Test matches and over 100 One Day Internationals for Australia as an opening batsman...
for the Test series against India. He responded with his first Test century, 123 from 255 balls, in his debut in the position at Adelaide. Together with Marsh, Boon gave the Australian upper-order a stability it had not had for many years. In the third Test of the series at Sydney, he consolidated his position with an innings of 131. Despite this newly-found batting solidity, Australia struggled in the series and drew all three Tests. Boon was also tried as an opener in the World Series Cup and made four half-centuries in twelve innings as Australia won the tournament for the first time in three years. On the following tour of New Zealand, Boon carried his bat for 58 not out in a total of 103 in the third Test at Auckland, which Australia lost.
Boon began the 1986 tour of India with a century in the Tied Test at Chennai and averaged 65 in another drawn series. He hit his maiden ODI century, 111 from 118 balls, in the first match of the series at Jaipur. However, he suffered a setback during the 1986-87 Ashes series when he lost form and was dropped after four Tests despite scoring 103 in the first innings at Adelaide. He was also omitted from the ODI team. At this stage, Australia was achieving very little success and Boon had played in three winning teams in 23 Tests.
Player of the final: 1987 World Cup
Boon returned to the ODI team for the Sharjah Cup tournament in the UAE during April 1987. Although Australia lost all three matches, Boon had scores of 71, 62 and 73, which secured his place for the fourth World Cup, held in India and Pakistan later in the year. His 447 runs (at 55.87 average) was a major contribution to Australia's first World Cup victory. In the semi-final, he made 65 at Lahore against Pakistan and won the player of the match award in the final at Kolkatta for his 75 from 125 balls.
The selectors persevered with Boon as a Test opener and he hit 143 from 255 balls when recalled for the first Test against New Zealand at Brisbane in late 1987. His ability to negotiate the bowling of Kiwi fast bowler
Richard HadleeSir Richard John Hadlee, MBE is a former New Zealand cricketer who played provincial cricket for Canterbury, Nottinghamshire and Tasmania. He is the son of Walter Hadlee, and the brother of Dayle and Barry Hadlee. His former wife Karen also played international cricket for New Zealand.Hadlee was...
contributed greatly to Australia winning its first Test series in four years. Against Sri Lanka at the Adelaide Oval he hit his highest ODI score of 122 (from 130 balls) and made 47 and 43 in the two finals of the World Series Cup, when Australia again defeated New Zealand. In January 1988, he made a fighting 184 not out in the second innings of the Bicentennial Test at Sydney to extricate Australia from a potentially match-losing position. He received the player of the match award and was voted international cricketer of the year.
Back to number three
Boon was less conspicuous during a tour of Pakistan and the home Test against the West Indies, until he hit 149 in the fourth Test against the West Indies at Sydney. His ODI form also hit a slump, and he contributed only one major innings in the World Series Cup, 71 against the West Indies at Sydney. Australia lost both Test series and the World Series. However, the team finally found sustained success, beginning with the 1989 tour of England. Boon returned to the number three position when Mark Taylor was brought into the team to partner Geoff Marsh. Boon compiled 442 runs 55.25, without making a century, as Australia regained the Ashes 4-0. His best score was 94 at Lord's.
Temporarily returned to the opening position to cover an injury to Marsh, Boon's 1989-90 season was mixed. In a one-off Test against New Zealand at Perth, he hit his only Test double century, 200 (from 361 balls) out of 361 runs added while he was at the wicket. However, three of his next five Test innings were ducks, beginning a run of 12 consecutive innings when he failed to make a half-century. Boon broke this run with an important innings of 94 not out in the second Ashes Test in 1990-91. He guided Australia to a victory target of 197 runs after the team began at a shaky 2/10. Dismissed for 97 by the part time bowling of
Graham GoochGraham Alan Gooch OBE DL is a former cricketer who captained Essex and England. He was one of the most successful international batsmen of his generation, and through a career spanning from 1973 until 2000, he became the most prolific run scorer of all time with 67,057 runs...
in the following Test, Boon made amends with 121 in the second innings at Adelaide. He was the leading batsman of the series, scoring 530 at an average of 75.71.
Leading batsman
He began the 1991 series against the West Indies with a brave 109 not out in the first Test at Jamaica. However, he could not sustain his form against the West Indian pace bowlers and made only one half-century in the remaining eight innings of the series. Boon dominated the 1991-92 summer, scoring three Test centuries in his 556 runs (average 79.42) against India. He was consistent rather than spectacular on the tour of Sri Lanka. In the first Test against West Indies at Brisbane in 1992-93, Boon scored 48 and 111. His batting against the Caribbean fast attack demonstrated that he was now Australia's best batsman. In England in 1993, he hit centuries in three consecutive Tests, at
Lord'sLord's Cricket Ground is a cricket venue in St John's Wood, London. Named after its founder, Thomas Lord, it is owned by Marylebone Cricket Club and is the home of Middlesex County Cricket Club, the England and Wales Cricket Board , the European Cricket Council and, until August 2005, the...
, Nottingham and Leeds.
Boon's 106 against New Zealand in 1993-94 was the first century by a Tasmanian in a Test played in Hobart. He played thirteen consecutive Test innings in double figures, including scores of 83 and 96 on the tour of South Africa in 1994, before scoring 114 not out in the first Test against Pakistan at Karachi in Mark Taylor's first Test as captain. Although Boon was senior to Taylor in the team and had captained Tasmania for a number of seasons, he was never seriously considered to replace Allan Border as the team's captain.
Waning form
After scoring 41 and 131 in the second Ashes Test of 1994-95, Boon's form began to wane. As a member of the team that famously won the Frank Worrell Trophy in the Caribbean in 1995, he made one half-century (67 at Antigua) in six innings. In the 1995-96 series against Pakistan, he made 110 runs in five innings as speculation began to mount about his future in the team. In the second Test against Sri Lanka, he hit 110 and sensing that the time was right, announced his retirement from the game after the following Test at Adelaide. He went out of Test cricket with scores of 43 and 35.
Durham captain
Following his retirement from international cricket, Boon continued playing for
TasmaniaThe Tasmanian cricket team, nicknamed the Tigers, represents the Australian state of Tasmania in cricket tournaments. They compete annually in the Australian domestic senior men's cricket season, which currently consists of the first-class Sheffield Shield, the limited overs Ford Ranger Cup, and...
and signed to captain Durham in the English county championship. He led the team in three seasons between 1997 and 1999. He played the last of his 139 first-class games for Tasmania in the 1998-99 season, in which he scored 9,077 runs at 41.44 average with 22 centuries. In all he led Tasmania 57 times for 13 wins and 25 losses.
After cricket
Boon was formerly a member of the
Cricket AustraliaCricket Australia, formerly known as the Australian Cricket Board, is the governing body for professional and amateur cricket in Australia. It was originally formed in 1905 as the Australian Board of Control for International Cricket...
selection board, along with
Merv HughesMervyn Gregory Hughes is a former Australian cricketer. A right-arm fast bowler, he represented Australia between 1985 and 1994 in 53 Test matches, taking 212 wickets. He played 33 One Day Internationals, taking 38 wickets. He took a hat trick in a Test against the West Indies at the WACA in...
,
Andrew HilditchAndrew Mark Jefferson Hilditch is a former Australian cricketer who played in 18 Tests and 8 ODIs from 1979 to 1985. He played for New South Wales from 1977 to 1981 and for South Australia from 1982 to 1992...
and the newly appointed Jamie Cox.
In May 2011 it was announced that Boon would be standing down from his position on the selection board, and as general manager of Cricket Tasmania, to become an ICC match referee, replacing Alan Hurst on the ICC Elite Panel. He made his test début as an umpire on September 1 2011 in a one-off test between Zimbabwe and Pakistan at Bulawayo.
Nicknamed 'Boony', the stocky, moustached batsman became something of a cult figure for his colourful character.
He was famously idolised by the
ABCThe Australian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly referred to as "the ABC" , is Australia's national public broadcaster...
comedy show
The Late ShowThe Late Show was a popular Australian comedy show, which ran for two seasons on ABC from 18 July 1992 to 30 October 1993.-Cast:The Late Show has its roots in the 1980s comedy group, The D-Generation...
in a segment called The Oz Brothers. Played by
Santo CilauroSanto Cilauro is an Australian television and feature film producer, screenwriter, actor, author, comedian and cameraman, a co-founder of The D-Generation...
and
Rob SitchRobert Ian Sitch , is an Australian director, producer, screenwriter, actor and comedian.-Early life:Sitch attended St Kevin's College and graduated with a Bachelor of Medicine and Surgery from the University of Melbourne, where he resided at Trinity College. He worked at the Royal Womans Hospital...
, Gavin and Neville Oz were quintessential Aussie cricket fans who would face Launceston and pray to Boon, chanting "Legend... Legend... Dead-set legend".
In recent times, he became the face of
Victoria BitterVictoria Bitter is one of the many iconic beers manufactured in the Australian state of Victoria. VB currently maintains the highest market share of all beer sold in Australia, both on tap and packaged...
(VB)
beerBeer is the world's most widely consumed andprobably oldest alcoholic beverage; it is the third most popular drink overall, after water and tea. It is produced by the brewing and fermentation of sugars, mainly derived from malted cereal grains, most commonly malted barley and malted wheat...
for its 2005/06 & 2006/07 summer advertising campaigns, called "Boonanza". Part of the promotion was the sale of a talking David Boon figurine with purchases of beer, which would make comments when prompted by
Channel NineThe Nine Network , is an Australian television network with headquarters based in Willoughby, a suburb located on the North Shore of Sydney. For 50 years since television's inception in Australia, between 1956 and 2006, it was the most watched television network in Australia...
commentary. One health expert claimed it was a "
..a dog-whistle marketing strategy directed at the heavy-drinking, sporting public that says, 'Go for it'." He is also alleged to have once consumed 52 cans of beer on a flight from
SydneySydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
to
LondonLondon is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
in 1989, in a story that is considered by some to be part of Australian sporting legend. This has never been confirmed by Boon however though
Geoff
LawsonGeoffrey Francis Lawson, OAM is a former Australian cricketer and the former coach of the Pakistan cricket team....
did confirm it
Boon will be making his return to cricket at the major sporting events Titans of Cricket in October 2011 - an evening of exciting challenging for famous sportsmen, touring across the UK in Manchester and Birmingham, with the grand finale in London's O2 Arena.
External links