Custom Bats Cricket Forum
General Cricket => Cricket Training, Fitness and Injuries => Topic started by: InternalTraining on August 24, 2019, 12:48:04 AM
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I have been thinking about this and am wondering what makes a good captain for a club level limited over side?
What is a good temperament? What is a good skills mix? How leverage does he/she have over the team and how to wield it? How should this person focus on different aspects of the game while captaining the side?
Let's hear your thoughts.
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Calm, proactive and adaptable would be a great start for me.
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I think more than ever it would be very difficult for a front line bowled to effectively captain a side. The demands and the ability to think correctly under pressure are massive
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Someone who can get 11 players on the pitch then inspire them to play as well as they can.
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@Maverick79 @alexhilly1492 @rockymoghal - any thoughts gents?
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I guess one major factor is when to attack and when to just sit back? If you have some squeeze bowlers then when do you use those.
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making sure everyone knows there role and is comfortable with it, this helps by setting a target for the year at the very beginning @19reading87 made it absolutely clear that we wanted to win the league this season and has put everything into doing that (if we win on saturday we win the league). its incredibly easy to follow someone who has a clear drive and ambition.
Also not being afraid of making the hard decision and being honest as to why, ive been left out a few times this season (yes i dont like it but who does) but its always been explained and always been to ensure we as a team are in the best position to win that particular game which is a step to hopefully winning the league.
also not letting bad spells in games affect us too much, or try to anyway, making bowling changes or changes to the batting order depending on situation, basically reading the game and adapting is key and something ive struggled with a bit when captaining on a sunday.
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Club captaincy is 90% off the field s**t and 10% on the field.
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Club captaincy is 90% off the field s**t and 10% on the field.
How so?
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Getting a team together.
Replacing people who inevitably drop out of said team or are taken by another team in the club.
Sorting someone out to deal with teas.
Dealing with the complaints and excuses of the designated tea maker and finding someone else to do it.
Giving up on the point above and making the teas yourself.
Sourcing a scorer and/or umpire.
Sorting out transport for players who only decide they can't make their own way there on Saturday morning.
Helping the groundsman with covers on the evening before the game.
Dealing with opposition captains who have no desire to play when there has been any sort of rain.
Pre and post game Admin.
This is by no means an exhaustive list!
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^ Wow! Is that normal for clubs in the UK?
Sorting out transport for players who only decide they can't make their own way there on Saturday morning.
Uber? Lyft?
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Lifts from other players, but they don't tell you until 10am that they need one!
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Getting a team together.
Replacing people who inevitably drop out of said team or are taken by another team in the club.
Sorting someone out to deal with teas.
Dealing with the complaints and excuses of the designated tea maker and finding someone else to do it.
Sourcing a scorer and/or umpire.
Sorting out transport for players who only decide they can't make their own way there on Saturday morning.
Helping the groundsman with covers on the evening before the game.
All of the above. Getting a team together and losing players to the higher club teams is annoying.
1 week 5 players, the next week 20 players
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😂 @fros23
So true, but all of these issues are fixable, in doing so you can concentrate on the other stuff.
I was hoping for no response to redders fishing, disappointed @alexhilly1492.
Congrats on a successful season
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1. NOT saying the obvious: “don’t bowl wides”; “no full tosses”; “we need a good score”
2. Taking ownership of whatever strategy you choose, and accepting the risks. For example:
a. If you decide to bat aggressively and target 8 rpo, don’t yell at people for “loose shots”
b. If you gamble with a spinner in the power play, be OK with getting smashed (that’s the risk you chose to take)
3. Accept that catches will be dropped (you’re no jonty Rhodes yourself)
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A good strategic mind combined with top notch interpersonal skills and rock solid emotional control and calm, positive body language.
You need to win the game, whilst playing in the right spirit and without being over competitive dicks, whilst not taking forever over your field placings, and most importantly, whilst making sure all 11 players get plenty of action and are put in a position to succeed.
I've been doing it for 20+ years, every game is still a challenge. Any mug can just ruthlessly play to win, its all the other stuff that makes a truly great skipper.
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Getting a team together.
Replacing people who inevitably drop out of said team or are taken by another team in the club.
Sorting someone out to deal with teas.
Dealing with the complaints and excuses of the designated tea maker and finding someone else to do it.
Giving up on the point above and making the teas yourself.
Sourcing a scorer and/or umpire.
Sorting out transport for players who only decide they can't make their own way there on Saturday morning.
Helping the groundsman with covers on the evening before the game.
Dealing with opposition captains who have no desire to play when there has been any sort of rain.
Pre and post game Admin.
This is by no means an exhaustive list!
don't forget having to negotiate with players who would much rather play in the team below because they bat higher, bowl more and there cousin plays in that side so they have to drive them (or maybe that's just our 2's)
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Someone who is supportive to juniors coming through (pre, during and post-match). They are the futures of most small clubs and too often I see them being treated like a seasoned adult if they make a mistake which puts them right off.
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I don't think there can be a straight answer to this question. A captain is only as good as his team and the qualities needed really depend on what he has to play with.
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don't forget having to negotiate with players who would much rather play in the team below because they bat higher, bowl more and there cousin plays in that side so they have to drive them (or maybe that's just our 2's)
And then they consistently score 10-15 every match whether they are in at 3 or 8
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Someone who is supportive to juniors coming through (pre, during and post-match). They are the futures of most small clubs and too often I see them being treated like a seasoned adult if they make a mistake which puts them right off.
This is why I like to captain the 4's. We try to select 7 juniors each week where numbers are permitting. It's good to see them come into the team and experience the men's game. It's also great to see them leave the team and move up.
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And then they consistently score 10-15 every match whether they are in at 3 or 8
I think most clubs have the same issues like these, 1st XI picks itself, but when they are short the majority of the 2's wont come up because they like playing with their mates. we end up with players jumping from 3's to 1's because of this.
annoyingly, there are 4 or 5 players in the 2's who would improve the 1's but have flat refused it, would rather average 30 in the 2's where its easier
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whilst making sure all 11 players get plenty of action and are put in a position to succeed.
This is the key for me, I play way down in the Worcs League so nobody is under any illusions of being great cricketers (with the exception of talented youngsters who could go on to become very handy players)
I've only captained a handful of games and I always tried to make sure that players I didn't want to give the ball to under any circumstances would get to bat in the top 6 regardless of how useless they were with the bat. We're giving up an entire Saturday and paying to play on top of that, if someone bats at 10/11 after standing around in the field for 3 hrs then they won't come back again.
The on field captaincy is a doddle compared to the logistical side of things, you just pretend to be calm when the oppo are smashing the ball all over the park and your players will be fine. :D
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This is the key for me, I play way down in the Worcs League so nobody is under any illusions of being great cricketers (with the exception of talented youngsters who could go on to become very handy players)
I've only captained a handful of games and I always tried to make sure that players I didn't want to give the ball to under any circumstances would get to bat in the top 6 regardless of how useless they were with the bat. We're giving up an entire Saturday and paying to play on top of that, if someone bats at 10/11 after standing around in the field for 3 hrs then they won't come back again.
The on field captaincy is a doddle compared to the logistical side of things, you just pretend to be calm when the oppo are smashing the ball all over the park and your players will be fine. :D
That's the key conundrum: will person X do more damage by bowling 2 overs of long-hops and wides at a key moment, or scratching around for 15 balls for 2 runs just when we need to accelerate? Hmmmm...
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Or in the case of one of our guys, try to bat through the innings going at just about 1 run per over and then have the audacity to suggest that other batsman need to hurry it along and score around him (literally batting 45 overs and not bringing up 50 until the last few of them) He’s also the type of guy that will drop anything that’s not a 10/10 dolly and then has the audacity to sulk when someone doesn’t take a one handed blinder
Our captain does a pretty good job on the organisation front, but he lets the aforementioned player get away with his attitude and selfishness too often. There’s only 2/3 of us who actually stand up and tell him to shut up. It’s a lot of the reason why I won’t be there next year
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That's the key conundrum: will person X do more damage by bowling 2 overs of long-hops and wides at a key moment, or scratching around for 15 balls for 2 runs just when we need to accelerate? Hmmmm...
scratching around for 15 balls for 2 runs is far less demoralising to a part-time cricketer than getting your bowling carted into the next postcode. Plus you get them in early enough and they will be gone by the time you need to accelerate.
Either way, if we lose a game in the lower end of the worc league who really cares? My only two concerns as captain were:
1) Make sure everybody felt like they were given a fair shake and hadn't wasted their Saturday.
2) Encourage the youngsters so they want to continue playing cricket.
Because at the end of day, what's the point of winning games if your club has to fold a couple of teams because nobody wants to come back the next year?
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Or in the case of one of our guys, try to bat through the innings going at just about 1 run per over and then have the audacity to suggest that other batsman need to hurry it along and score around him (literally batting 45 overs and not bringing up 50 until the last few of them)
This is giving me terrible flashbacks, stop it! (Only in this case the batsman scored 4 runs in 24 overs and then said we didn't bowl well enough)
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scratching around for 15 balls for 2 runs is far less demoralising to a part-time cricketer than getting your bowling carted into the next postcode. Plus you get them in early enough and they will be gone by the time you need to accelerate.
Either way, if we lose a game in the lower end of the worc league who really cares? My only two concerns as captain were:
1) Make sure everybody felt like they were given a fair shake and hadn't wasted their Saturday.
2) Encourage the youngsters so they want to continue playing cricket.
Because at the end of day, what's the point of winning games if your club has to fold a couple of teams because nobody wants to come back the next year?
Well this is true, but ultimately a winning team is a happy team, and people equally get frustrated if they feel their attempts to produce a positive result are being undermined. There's a balance to be struck.
Winning isn't important, but trying to win is paramount.
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This is giving me terrible flashbacks, stop it! (Only in this case the batsman scored 4 runs in 24 overs and then said we didn't bowl well enough)
Think I’d have some very strong words for someone blaming the bowling after that!
At what point does it stop being “he’s a plodder who probably cost us the game” to “he’s a selfish idiot who’s ruined everyone else’s day by batting so slowly for himself”