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[Dhiraj]

Right from England tour to SA to now Pak, he seems to be very aggressive and confident captains going around.

[iand123]

Think its safe to say his reputation has gone sky high of late. Very impressive and his batting is in very good touch too. Be interesting to see how he deals without Sanga and Jayawardene in the team.

[Buzz]

Well he knows how to captain a cricket team during a match - not sure that makes him aggressive - just makes him mentally able to do the job - like Michael Clarke and Brendon McCullum.

unlike many other captains...

but none the less an important thread.

[Dhiraj]

Th reason I say aggressive is because he didnt give an inch in England tour. He stood behind his decision of mankading and was very much in your face through our the one day matches and also test.
Then yesterday he declared with 82 runs ahead and it is very unlike subcontinental captains who would rather see the first game drawn and then try to win the last one.

He somehow comes across as someone who wants to win and at any cost.

[Manormanic]

Th reason I say aggressive is because he didnt give an inch in England tour. He stood behind his decision of mankading and was very much in your face through our the one day matches and also test.
Then yesterday he declared with 82 runs ahead and it is very unlike subcontinental captains who would rather see the first game drawn and then try to win the last one.

To be fair, he made a bit of a t**t out of himself over the Mankading and support of the chucker Sennanayake.  On the field, he seems to do pretty well with what he has, but he's no McCullum...

[Cumbrian Pete]

I think he has an excellent cricket brain and could develop into Sri Lanka's best ever captain.  It's a shame they don't appear to have any world class players coming through to back up his captaincy. 

[mini998]

Don't think he is an aggressive captain , in fact I think he is bit of defensive in some ways , he messed up big time in UAE against Pakistan but he has come a long way after that embarrassment , delayed the declaration against SA unnecessary in second test which could have give us a chance if he declared few overs early. But his body language on the field is sort of aggressive I guess.

He is not bad as Cook or Dhoni but certainly nothing like Clarke.

[Dhiraj]

To be fair, he made a bit of a t**t out of himself over the Mankading and support of the chucker Sennanayake.  On the field, he seems to do pretty well with what he has, but he's no McCullum...

  oh yeah the self righteous English and how he rubbed them in the wrong way...laughable 
I guess every captain/team backs his teammates...

He is no McCullum but I dont get what this Clarke thing is? Its just Warne sort of spreading the word on Clarke being aggressive.

[ProCricketer1982]

Would Cook have 'backed' his player... Probably.. Why.. Because pro sport is no longer sport, it's business and these players are paid employees and nothing more. They will do what they have to to win.

[swamidude]

I think Matthews has done alright for himself, in England I thought he was spot on and batted superbly to turn average scores into very good ones during the tests. Of course he has to support his players regardless of what the allegations are. Anderson pushed Jadeja and look at the support he got from both the management and the crowds so anyone claiming there is right and wrong in sport is plain stupid. You have to back your teammates and that's just how it is.

[Manormanic]

oh yeah the self righteous English and how he rubbed them in the wrong way...laughable 
I guess every captain/team backs his teammates...

He is no McCullum but I dont get what this Clarke thing is? Its just Warne sort of spreading the word on Clarke being aggressive.

Nothing self righteous about it, he made the wrong decision - yes, it was within the laws, but so have a number of other things been that have required apology because the spirit of the game is slightly different.

Clarke...not sure.  He's always been the kind of captain who sets attacking fields, but I don't see a particularly great skipper there, just one who makes reasonable use of a battery of quicks.

[jrb1984]

I think we all know he's not the one making the decisions on the field, in the same way Chandimal didn't in the recent T20 World Cup. Once Jayawardene & Sangakkara go then he may find life more difficult, ie he may have to do more than toss the coin

[Manormanic]

that's a valid point - though the team under Mathwes has played differently to the team under Sanga

[jrb1984]

that's a valid point - though the team under Mathwes has played differently to the team under Sanga

That's true but maybe Sanga and Jayawardene have learnt an awful lot from their times as skipper since Murali retired. They had to find a way to win without just chucking the ball to Murali.

The T20 world cup success certainly wasnt down to Chandimal or Malinga's captaincy as they didn't really make any decisions other than to drop themselves or call head or tails

[Manormanic]

That's true but maybe Sanga and Jayawardene have learnt an awful lot from their times as skipper since Murali retired. They had to find a way to win without just chucking the ball to Murali.

I think that's kinda unfair on Mathews - yes, he was obviously getting help on field placings toward the end of the Headingley test, but before that he seemed to be pretty well in control of his side.