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[Buzz]

I have been thinking a little about the role of captains in cricket and wanted to ask whether a good team needs a great captain or whether only average teams need a great captain.

what do you think...

with cook now seemingly invincible again, but it isn't his captaincy which has changed, it is his bowlers bowling the right length (and some ludicrous pitches) that have made the difference.

Graeme Smith is lauded for being a great captain, but would SA, for example, have done better with a more natural captain with a better feel for the game (and not choked so often?)

does the length of the game matter?

again using SA as the benchmark, they have the better players so perform better over the longer game. in a short game the weaker players can have one of those days...

[Johnny]

Hows about Ponting.. Was he a great captain or did he just have a freakishly good team at his disposal?

I think a great captain will make a team be better than the sum of it's parts, but ultimately it's the caliber of the players that matters.

I guess the only exception would be where 2 teams are relevantly evenly matched

[Wickets-then-runs]

Ponting was a reasonable captain but probably would have been better if he hadn't been gifted one of the greatest teams ever at the start of his captaincy. By having it so easy at the start, he never really had to be too inventive or original. This showed at the end when at times, he looked to be quite frustrated. Clarke will be a better captain in the long run from the experience he has garnered during the tough times along with a killer instinct, hopefully!

[lazza32]

Hows about Ponting.. Was he a great captain or did he just have a freakishly good team at his disposal?

I think a great captain will make a team be better than the sum of it's parts, but ultimately it's the caliber of the players that matters.

I guess the only exception would be where 2 teams are relevantly evenly matched

He just had a good team. I really don't rate him even though statistically he is one of the all time best captains.

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[Seniorplayer]

It's not difficult captaincy when you have a great team where everyone knows there own role  and can deliver let the batters bat and the bowlers bowl but a good captain in a poor team  with a tactical brain who understands players and the game itself can up to a point make a difference.

[Manormanic]

This is too complex of a question to answer/explore in one post!

I think that better teams need a different type of good captain to weaker ones, and club sides need different qualities from their leaders to professional sides.  For example, Smith was a great captain for South Africa for the first five years because he was a strong character who brought a disparate bunch together, but he didn't adapt to the changing needs of his team by providing the nous to get them over the line in those tight "choke" situations. 

Steve Waugh is a similar example - lauded at the time, he was the right man to keep a stellar side in check and focused on their goals.  Would he have done much with the team Michael Clarke inherited?  Probably not...

[procricket]

I think a captain should mold the team inspire,cajole,lead, be the man they turn to install discipline good and bad teams need a good captain but a good captain job is to lead.

Now it is different from your village club side to test side as they have so many people like psychologists and mentors.

A team should and will reflect there skipper for Ponting it was gritty win at all costs, I find it interesting watching Brendon McCullum captain recently he has risen his game and that of his teams and you can physically see the effect he has on his squad.

Think it a different role also if your in a team of world beaters it will be like clock work but in a poor team and your the best player you have to drag them up be improving things either mentally which i think is the key at club level.

All teams need good captains just different types from man managers  Motivators, Leaders from the front type , Strategists, but what i will say is i think captaincy has a time scale because eventually you have done everything and your time comes to step down.

[Silver Bullet]

He just had a good team. I really don't rate him even though statistically he is one of the all time best captains.

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 Why not ?

What is the role of a captain ?

Some captains are strategically brilliant but incapable of holding a spot in the team ala Darren Sammy....

Others might be strategically unimaginative but lead the team from the front like an MS Dhoni or a Misbah


My opinion is that a team reflects the personality of the captain - a defensive mindset from a captain usually results in a defensive team and that is why I rate Ricky ponting so highly. He was an aggressive, lead from the front captain and his team had a killer instinct that they might not have had, had they been captained by a Justin Langer or a Damien Martin.

[cricketrob]

Darren sammy is not strategically brilliant...

[roco]

Average teams need great captains I.E. Stephen fleming

great teams need great leaders whether the captain or senior players I.E. Clive lloyd

[Manormanic]

Here we have the difference between leaders and captains.  Clive Lloyd was a great leader of men - but he was not a great captain.  Steve Waugh was similar, as was Graeme Smith.

[ProCricketer1982]

Good question!!

My view.
  A good team does need a capt but a different one to a weaker side. A weaker side needs someone with far more leadership qualities than tactical skill. The capt of a good team probably needs less leadership but more man management as his players will all expect to bat higher than their roles dictate and so managing egos is me bigger thing.

I've not seen many good skippers tbh, most are either just guys who want to do everything so capt.. Guys who think they are good capts but aren't or just old guys still hanging on to their position in the team via being skipper

Good teams can suffer if they start to fragment due to people competing for spots and people get protective over their slot and bat for themselves. My club now have someone who seems to think they should be higher up,and is throwing all sorts of stats and moans about it.. Even though everyone knows his best position is where he is now it doesn't stop it being disruptive. That's when a good capt will manage it, a bad one will mismanage it, ending up,wih a weaker team all around

[smilley792]

A good captain is needed.

A great team can lose with some poor decisions.
But an average side can win with some great changes, ideas, plans.


There's always an exception to every rule, and when India are as bad as they were in the last 3 tests, it just becomes a walkover.

[MJB3]

The real question is, is a good captain responsible for the exceptional performance of players/a team over a sustained period?

[ProCricketer1982]

The real question is, is a good captain responsible for the exceptional performance of players/a team over a sustained period?

If it's a club capt and a player trusts them and respects them then they will be relaxed, not fear for their position and so will feel 'free'. Which as we know, generally means you play better