I have wondered a lot as to who could the best captain in cricket ever? Answers have ranged from Mike Brearley to Don Bradman to Douglas Jardine to Ian Chappell, Kapil Dev to Imran Khan, Clive Lloyd to Arjuna Ranatunga, Hansie Cronje to Steve Waugh, or Allan Border and Sourav Ganguly. Not having had the fortune of witnessing and following cricket before the 1990s, I set out to name five Best Captains from the last two decades. This is the time when cricket evolved hugely and captains unlike earlier days had to lead the team in three versions of the game. Captaincy can be graded on various bases, most crucial being statistics (success) and the captain's impact on and importance in the team. 1992 Benson & Hedges Cup saw most teams captained by the senior statesman in the team, most of who retired immediately after the tournament. Australia by Allan Border, New Zealand by Martin Crowe, England by Graham Gooch, Pakistan by Imran Khan, Zimbabwe by Dave Houghton, South Africa by Kepler Wessels. Captains of the Indian (Azharuddin), Sri Lankan (Ranatunga) & West Indian (Richardson) teams carried on to lead their teams in the next World Cup too. Then began a new era where the captains were younger and more dynamic.
Amongst the new heap Hansie Cronje stood tall. He bred a young, inexperienced team into a world beating side. Players like Rhodes, Donald, McMillan, Richardson, Kirsten stood by their captain their respect for them was evident. He got exactly what he wanted off his team. Minus the match fixing scandal, Hansie Cronje could have been considered amongst the best captains of all time. Gibbs in a recent interview when asked about why he agreed to Cronje to throw a match, said, “Hansie also had this power over us, so we couldn't say no.” which I think is a tribute to the man for the respect the team had for him.
Arjuna Ranatunga, the stockily built southpaw also an inspirational captain stood by his player, Muralitharan, then just a new spin bowler in the team when he was called for “chucking” in Australia. He staged a walk out and lodged a protest. Sri Lankans took Murali being called a “chucker” as an insult. Arjuna, the crafty captain he was, directed all their energies to the World Cup in 1996. His every experiment worked. Making Jayasuriya, then just a spinner and a lower order batsman open with wicket keeper Kaluwitharana lengthened their batting line up and ensured they batted deep. The team played like a dream. They didn’t lose a single game and took home the World Cup. He took a team that stood second from last in the 1992 World Cup to world champions four years later.
An ideal captain is supposed to be impartial yet be friendly with the team. Communication is said to be one of the most important traits of a good captain. Thats where Mohammed Azharuddin lacked for India. During his reign as India captain, there were jokes around when was the last time he spoke to his players casually off field. And communication and aggression is where Sourav Ganguly excelled in comparison to his predecessors. He led by example and forged a fabulous coach-captain relationship with John Wright and took India to some remarkable wins at home and overseas. He lead the team to test wins in Pakistan and drew in England & Australia; something none of the Indian captains in the past have achieved. The NatWest Trophy 2002 win and series win over Australia at home are considered his best achievements. Sourav Ganguly is credited hugely for breeding the current generation of senior players in the Indian team today, the likes of Zaheer, Yuvraj, Harbhajan, Sehwag etc flourished under his leadership. Succeeding him, Rahul Dravid had a torrid time handling the team and coach Greg Chappell.
Steve Waugh imbibed a strong team from Mark Taylor when he took over as test captain in 1998-99. His team already had champions like Warne, McGrath, Mark Waugh, Martyn, Gilchrist etc. He task was to put his resources in place. He did just that and the results were for us to see. The 1999 World Cup, 16 consecutive tests and complete domination till he held the throne was what he achieved. He gave a new life to Hayden who went on to be counted amongst the best opening batsmen the game has seen.
Nasser Hussain for England & Stephen Fleming for New Zealand were inspirational captains for their sides. Their teams respected them and enjoyed reasonable success under their captaincy. But longitude of their success was what was missing. Fleming’s success though can be attributed to four Kiwi players who were more or less instrumental in giving them those wins; Asle, Vettori, Cairns & Bond. Hussain on the other hand was a shrewd captain who didn’t enjoy as much success but was an astute strategy maker and carried them out with perfection. His strategy to have Giles bowl outside leg stump to dry up Tendulkar’s runs to dismiss him was a masterstroke as it did succeed.
Amongst the modern captains Dhoni, Smith & Ponting have gained maximum success. Mahendra Singh Dhoni's journey as a captain began with a bang when India lifted the inaugural World T20 Cup in 2007. No doubt the team under his leadership is enjoying the best of Tendulkar, Dravid & Laxman’s final burst before they hang their boots. But this in no way is discrediting the man for his astute captaincy and execution. His decisions have worked more often than not; he is a calm customer on the field but he does have the aggression and the killer punch required to succeed in pressure. Under him India is no more a brittle team that cracks under pressure. Unlike previous Indian teams, Dhoni's team thrives under testing circumstances.
Ricky Ponting took over from where Steve Waugh left. Australia, in his initial years at the post were reigning on top of the cricketing world. With the 2003 & 2007 World Cup wins, having conquered the final frontier (victory on Indian soil) and consistent domination of best teams, Aussies were rendered unbeatable. But Ponting started losing his top men to age and fatigue. McGrath, Gilchrist, Langer, Hayden, Martyn retired. Brett Lee’s injuries got the better of him. And Ponting began leading a young side. Australia’s struggles had begun so had Ponting’s. His form dipped and his team started losing regularly. Two away Ashes losses, two defeats to India in India are all signs of Aussie domination and Ponting’s leadership on wane.
Graeme Smith at 23, took over captaincy when no one else volunteered. He was named captain after South Africa’s very disappointing World Cup 2003 campaign at home under Shaun Pollock’s leadership. He gained the respect of members of the squad. From a team so known for choking, he transformed South Africa into a team that stayed at the no. 1 position in test and ODIs for a considerable while. His team has a realistic chance of winning the World Cup next year. He has developed a fantastic team with a powerful batting line up and a threatening bowling attack. New comers like Dale Steyn, AB de Villiers, Hashim Amla have prospered under his leadership.
West Indies has seen over 8 captains since 1992. This also has been the period of West Indies' downfall as a cricketing side. Since 2000 West Indies have constantly been in the bottom 3 of the ICC rankings. Much of this could be attributed to how the game is administered at home, but the captains too haven't been able to elicit the best out of his players.
Pakistan has had the most number of captains, 14, amongst all test playing nations in the last two decades. Wasim Akram & Inzamam Ul Haq's captaincy could be called the most successful for team. They reached the World Cup finals in 1999 and beat India in their backyard under Akram. Inzamam's team was resolute with strong batsmen, good all rounders and fine pace bowlers until the 2007 World Cup when the world came apart for the Pakistani when their coach Bob Woolmer was found dead in his hotel room. Pakistan's campaign ended prematurely and their team went into a tizzy.
These two decades proved great batsmen and bowlers do not necessarily make a great captain. Brian Lara, Sachin Tendulkar, Wasim Akram, Sanath Jayasuriya, Courtney Walsh, Kevin Pietersen stand as examples.
With an eye each on success and his impact on the team, I arrive at my top 5 best captains in the last two decades. My list is: Steve Waugh, Graeme Smith, Sourav Ganguly, Hansie Cronje & Arjuna Ranatunga in the same order.
Smith, Ganguly, Cronje, Ranatunga were all instrumental in rebuilding their teams after turmoils or bad form. They lead their teams to successes in pressure situations and formed admirable combinations with coaches they worked with the longest; Smith-Arthur, Ganguly-Wright, Cronje-Woolmer & Ranatunga-Whatmore. Steve Waugh is on the list purely for the long victory run his team had under his leadership, the respect his team had for him and for the grace he retired with after realizing he is past his prime and its time for the youth to take over.
Definition of a good captain might have definitely changed over the years but I still have my hopes with the likes of Dhoni, Sangakkara, Clarke, Vettori etc to continue to the tradition of fabulous cricket in the future.
