What Makes a Great Cricket Captain
What Skills are Required to be a Successful Cricket Captain
Great Cricket Captains, morguefile
Cricket is a sport where the decisions of the captain are integral to the success of the team. Read about what skills are required to be a great cricket captain.
The influence of the captain in cricket is more profound than in the majority of sports.
What makes a great captain? Are the skills required similar to all forms of leadership and who are examples of players who have performed the role with great success?
What Makes a Great Captain?
The captain is the leader of the team. In many sports their remit can be to don an armband, call heads or tails and fist pump in lieu of real motivation. In cricket, tactical acumen, leadership skills and psychological insight play their part in building a winning team.
Former New Zealand captain and middle order batsmen Martin Crowe said ‘one of the strong tenants of captaincy is the requirement to articulate thought and ideas’. This talent to make a tactical concept into a practical reality is common among influential leaders.
Mike Brearley, a batsmen of limited talent but an exceptional captain, wrote in his book The Art of Captaincy that it is imperative to understand the nature of the individual within the structure of the team. Cricket is a game of individual performance, therefore to obtain the best result for the team each person should be given the confidence to trust in their ability to perform.
Under Brearley’s captaincy, this was best illustrated in the 1981 Ashes Test at Headingley. Following on, the home side were 135 –7 when Ian Botham scored a thrilling century. England amassed 356 to leave Australia what appeared a modest 130 for victory.
At 56-1, an Australian victory seemed inevitable. Brearley responded in a manner common to the exceptional leader, he thought counter intuitively. Bob Willis, England’s fastest bowler, was persuaded to bowl into the wind and ended with figures of 8-43 as the visitors fell nineteen runs short.
Both Botham, whom Brearley had replaced as captain, and Willis commented that Brearley’s captaincy was instrumental in instilling confidence and purpose, to which they responded magnificently.
The Skills of Leadership
Humility may not be initially seen as an advantage in leadership, but a lack of hubris in a captain can increase their ability to influence team members.
Successful sides are often said to contain ‘a team of leaders’. Brearley feels accepting the views and ideas of others is a hallmark of strong leadership, from the novice to the senior pro, innovation and insight should not be seen as the sole prerogative of the captain. Cricket is a subtle game and the perspective of team members can prove invaluable to the decision making process.
The Great Cricket Captains
Douglas Jardine: Captained the MCC on possibly the most infamous cricket tour of all time, to Australia in 1928/9 where he employed the controversial leg theory attack.
Later to become known as bodyline, under instruction from Jardine the opening bowlers Larwood and Voce bowled persistently short to a predominantly leg side field. The Australian batsmen had to either risk injury or, by playing, be likely to be caught.
An example of innovative but ruthless captaincy, England won four of the five test series. The practice was subsequently outlawed by the then governing body of cricket, the MCC.
Allan Border: Played in more Tests, more Tests as captain, more consecutive Tests and took more catches than any other player.
He took over from Kim Hughes in 1984 at a low point in Australian cricket and transformed its fortunes in his ten-year reign.
An uncompromising leader, he instilled a resolute confidence in his players and laid foundations for the all conquering team of recent times.
Mike Brearley: Perhaps the most intellectual of captains as his post career occupation as a psychoanalyst testifies.
He brought an intelligence and subtlety to the position of England captain, which saw him lead the side to victory in seventeen of his thirty one matches in charge.
Although fortunate to have talent such as Ian Botham and Bob Willis available to him, he afforded them a freedom that enabled that talent to flourish.
The Art of Captaincy
It is a truth to say that a team with good players makes the captain's job easier. However, the title of Brearley’s book encompasses the view that there is an art to captaincy. A leader with the ability to understand and coax the most from individuals under his charge will increase the likelihood of consistent and continuing success.
References
The Art of Captaincy – Mike Brearley (Hodder & Stoughton)
Cricinfo.com
harrowdrive.com
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