Captains play a huge role in a team, not only for binding a team and helping get the right combination, but also for the strategic aspect of the game. The blame for a sub-par season / tournament falls on the captain and rightly so. A bad decision by a captain could result in a lost game. Not playing enough bowlers in a Test match, and although your team puts up a decent score, you can't get 20 wickets to win the game. Choose to bat second in the World Cup semi-finals on a newly laid out pitch, and then watch Sanath Jayasuriya turn the ball square and make you look like a fool! Don't know how to handle an English attack with reverse swing, and you lose the Ashes for the first time in 20 years! There are countless such instances of poor captaincy that come to mind.
But how often does good captaincy come to mind. Not often, simply because it could mean putting a short mid off in place and thus not allowing the opposing batsman to play his shots freely. So instead, he can't score at will, and then gets out after a sub-par performance, and your team wins the game. The captaincy is rarely credited, but a simple act like that could have huge implications on the game. Bringing on the spinners at the right time. Making subtle field placements. Changing your bowlers effectively. Having a strategy to implement if the opposition is going hammer and togs at you. Very few captains have shown true accumen for such a role. Great captains are but a few, and when they come around, everyone else is dwarfed by their presence. I think of people like Imran Khan who moulded the Pakistan team, Stephen Flemming who out-thought so many rivals, Steve Waugh who perfected the art of mind games, Saurav Ganguly who brought a fighting spirit and results to the Indian team, and Hansie Cronje who understood the fine art of angles and field placement. There are many more who I haven't mentioned, but who were great leaders.
But remember, a captain isn't necessarily a great player. Take Mike Bearly vs Ian Botham. The latter is one of the greatest all rounders of the game, but a poor captain. The former was a decent batsman, but an outstanding captain. Is Tendulkar a great captain, or just a great player? Can the same be said for Lara? Is Ricky Ponting a good captain? Or does he just have great talent around him?
Those are some of the things that I want to hear your opinions on. Also, what about our very own MCC league? Who is a good captain in our league? What makes him such a good captain? Is he a good leader? Does he understand the game? Are his field placements spot on? Does he take risks that often pay off?
Who would fall into the list of top 10 captains?
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4 comments:
Awesome article Aditya ...
I would like to add to it saying that Captain is good or bad should not be judged on win-loss ratio ... If that was the case, one would have Australian and WEst Indians like Lloyd in the good captains list ...
Well in MCC .. I would remember the 2 captains of my team, whom I have played under .. for their good decisions thay have taken ...
Like Prasanth decided to go with all his bowlers in a crucial match against Phoenix in 2005. Also Tafazzul who marshalled his limited resources very well against CCI in 2006. There are mansy such instances, but these are the ones which comes to my mind right now.
I would love to hear about other captains ...
Cheers,
Alpesh
In world cricket, I would like to add Mahela Jayawardane to the list. He has used his bowlers very well and has also managed to raise his batting to an extremely high level.
In MCC, Kiran Kambampati comes to mind. His knowledge of the game and the players, coupled with his batting makes him extremely effective. He is also an extremely good fielder and you often see him change his fielding position based on the strengths of the batsman.
I would also like to add Anand B(ex-tigers presently playing for Royals) to the list. The guy has played a good level in Madras and has a very good knowledge of the game. I go back to that victory against Royals when we defended 83 odd runs. Even though he was not the captain, his leadership and his field placements and his keeping was truly inspirational. He has not done well this year, I hope he does(except when he plays Phoenix).
There is a very important and essential quality in a captain that was missed out - i.e. he should be a good man manager and be able to deal with different personalities in the team. And as Richie Benaud said 'a good captain is one who is atleast 2 overs ahead of the game'.
All I gotta say is that Farhat sheikh is by far the worst captain in our league. He is reactive rather than proactive and constantly gets into it with the opposition and the umpire. Last year, in a crucial match, instead of leading from the front, he batted all the way down #11 because he was afraid of certain pace bowlers. He never takes responsibilities for his actions and constantly blames others for them. The absolute worst!
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