Captaincy and Leadership

last year

Darren Wotherspoon

Cricket Coach

Gosford, New South Wales, Australia

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Skid only played a few more games before he retired and it was a huge regret that I didn't come to Sydney earlier to get more time playing as Skid as captain. He was always there for me and it was the chats with him that convinced me to go to Manly in 2005 to play under his brother-in-law, Shawn Bradstreet.

Skid was the only person whom I saw Scott Hookey couldn’t intimidate. Hook had absolute respect for Skid and Hook was very intense. Hook's sister said to me one day at work that Scott feels he owes his life to Skid. I worked with both of them, and the respect Hook had for Skid tells a big story about the man that Skid is.

In 2005 I left the Bears to go to Manly and play under the best captain I experienced, Shawn Bradstreet.

https://www.cricconnect.com/profile/1001/darren-wotherspoon/blog/1842/darren-wotherspoon-my-best-captain

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last year

Keiran Knight

Newcastle, NSW, Australia

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1 Followers

Keiran Knight – my best captain

The best captain I played with was Neil Maxwell.

Encouraged us to play attacking positive cricket. Max new his players and their ability. His knowledge of the game and when to use his quicks or spinners. He was a hard taskmaster but held himself to those levels of expectation.

One match against Parramatta we won on first innings prior to tea but we didn’t bowl or field overly well. He got stuck into us at the tea break and we sent them back in to follow on.

Max was pretty fired up and took the new ball. Parramatta were 4 for 1 at the end of the over. We won outright in 13 overs. We all jumped on his coat tails and followed his example.

We then knew the standards we were setting as a team.

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last year

Evan Atkins

Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

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Evan Atkins - my best captain

Barry Davison was my captain in 3rd grade in 1983. He led a young team like the pied piper and he was inspirational with his batting, making some opposing spinners cry with his sweeping and lofted off drives.

His field placements and bowling changes during that season as I think back were beyond a lot of the players cricketing comprehension. We really had no idea what he was doing, we just followed the leader.

Looking back, he was so far ahead of the game I didn’t appreciate the minutia at the time, but it was amazing.

Lenny Pascoe was a different kettle of fish. 1985 we were a very young first grade team finding our way. Justin Kenny, Mark Chapman, Phil Weatherall, Kevin Tuite all very inexperienced and happily following Len around, a few of us in our first seasons.

We played UNSW at Caringbah and Geoff Lawson had just jumped off a plane from a successful Ashes series and very keen to play grade cricket. Friday night there was a huge storm in Caringbah and there were holes in the covers. When the covers were removed there was a one metre circular wet spot just short of a length at the northern end. You could squeeze you finger into the patch up to the first joint on your index finger. Anyway, the young Sutherland side were on tenterhooks as Len went out to for the toss. He walked back towards the rooms motioning that we were batting. He closed the dressing room door and announced to the team that he had won the toss but decided to bat on a wet wicket to see how his young batsmen would react and handle the situation

I played most of my first-grade cricket under John Dyson. After the ban he and Steve Rixon had post the rebel tour to South Africa, Dyso decided to go to Sydney Uni so he could captain a first grade side while Stumpa took the reins at Sutherland.

As a wicket keeper I followed Dyso to Uni and the way he blended a side together with stalwarts like Mick O’Suilivan and John Grimble was amazing.

The Uni side was young with some serious talent but he had the nous to bring that side together into what was a happy well-functioning side.

We both returned to Sutherland, and he mentored players like Jake Kenny, Phil Weatherall, Glenn McGrath, Mark Chapman to maximise what they had as cricketers. As a 40 year old he played some inspiring knocks against the likes of Holdsworth, Killen, Alley and a few slower nemesis’s I won’t mention.

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last year

Adrian Jones

Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

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Adrian Jones - my best cricket captain

Although I was lucky to play under several excellent captains it would be hard to overlook the man who led our team during an extremely successful era and winning four premierships I was involved in at St Kilda Cricket Club.

Tim O’Sullivan was a terrific manager of ambitious cricketers. He did have a team of considerable talent which included a minimum of 4 state squad members at any one time. Sadly, they were mostly batsmen but that’s ok!

Not all players were playing for Victoria so when they all available to play club cricket Tim was able to manage the team and specifically the batting order so that all the batsmen were given the opportunity to score runs but also maintain a team ethos of playing for each other and also looking to win games of cricket which is what we all craved.

He was a good, clear communicator that ensured that everyone was on the same page going into a match but also that he would be the decision maker of how the team played.

He was also a thorough listener….and he needed to be!

He would often receive ideas and advice from players of significant experience within the playing group and he would need to weed out certain pieces of advice that may have had ‘self-interest’ attached or were too negative and not taking a team forward to get better, even by the smallest of percentages.

And despite being able to manage all these situations Tim was at his best on the field in the heat of battle usually when the circumstances were at their most challenging.

He scored a match winning century in tough conditions against Hawthorn-Waverley CC in a semi-final when no other batsman could even slightly look settled at the crease. Despite poor weather he also encountered a change to the playing conditions with play being held up on occasions that may have caused him to take risks too great to try and boost the run rate. That innings stood out clearly during that game and lead us to the first of four premierships the following week.

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last year

Greg McLay

Cricket Coach

Wagga Wagga, New South Wales, Australia

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Greg McLay – my best captain

I probably had a few captains who each had their own unique qualities that resonated but I think nominating who the best captain was, is tricky. The two leadership qualities I valued the most were intuitiveness and a deep understanding of the game and an ability to inspire (actions and words).

I loved playing with attacking players who loved to win and compete, and Phil Marks was one, as was Darren Tucker. Both excellent leaders. Both understood you sometimes have to risk losing in order to win. That was a valuable lesson I gained from both of those blokes.

Geoff Lawson was another. Henry was my NSW Shield captain and as a kid who wasn’t quite sure if they belonged at that level, he always backed me. I remember him bringing me on to bowl really early in my debut match when we fielded first against WA.

Henry knew I was really nervous. Henry also knew that by getting me immersed in the contest, it would be a good distraction for me. I bowled pretty well, and I think his decision to do that set me up nicely.

Henry also was known for his daring declarations, so he also knew you sometimes had to risk losing to get a good result. A really brave captain.

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last year

David Lovell

Perth, Australia

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0 Followers

David Lovell - my best captain

Dermott Reeve was the best captained I played with.

He would also communicate plans with the players before, during and after the game. Hetting the attention of the team was his biggest strength as we were all part of the process to win the game.

Dermott was terrific in explaining the angles he wanted in the field for different type of bowlers. He wanted the field finer for the fast bowlers and squarer for the slower bowlers. He’d also make sure we were aware of angles for left- and right-hand batters. He always believed two gully’s and a backward point would strangle most left hand batters.

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last year

Dean Magee

Business Development Manager

Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

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0 Followers

Sean Pope was the best captain in my cricket career.

His open and transparent approach to captaincy made you feel at ease within the team environment and he was a great man manager and treated us all equally and that is all you can ask from a captain.

His was a very aggressive player and captain and set fields that captains wouldn’t dare set in a game situation. Fields like 3 or 4 short covers, just very different that wouldn’t only confuse the batsman, but sometimes even his own teammates
Sean had a great ability to bring players together in social settings and this helps win on the field in tough situations, we never felt beaten in a game and this was born about by the closeness of our team.

I remember Peter Burkhart come up to me at the races one day (we were washed out) and said “you guys will win the comp this year, I have never seen a team as close as mates as you are” Peter was a good judge, as we won the grand final pretty easily over North Sydney six months later.

Sean led from the front, he was a funky captain, but one I wouldn’t swap and I played with some very handy other captains along the way.

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last year

Trent Ryan

Real Estate Agent

Brisbane, Australia

52 Likes
26 Followers

Peter Charles affectionately known as "Sting" was the best Captain I played under, or more correctly with. Sting never set himself as being above any team member in ability or importance. In the Queensland Cricket Premier Competition, back in the day, there were 9 District Clubs and to avoid a Bye in First Grade Qld Cricket would field a "Colts XI". QC would appointment a Captain/Coach and the 9 clubs would each nominate 2 players under the age of 21 as the squad for selection. The side would train together, and our home ground was The Gabba.

You could not play for more than 2 seasons for Colts, and it was originally used to give exposure to fringe first grade players that may not play at the home club

https://www.cricconnect.com/profile/64/trent-ryan/blog/1829/trent-ryan-my-best-captain

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last year

Western Suburbs District Cricket Club Sydney

Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

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93 Followers

Due to an injury to Western Suburbs regular 5th Grade captain Mark Lewis, Club Coaches Chadd Porter and Shaun Vose entrusted the captaincy responsibilities to 17-year-old Jack Clark.

We thought we’d check in with Jack to see how he enjoyed the captaincy experience.

What was your reaction when you were informed, you’d be captain of the 5th grade team?

Initially a little bit of shock, but also really excited as I knew it was going to be a good opportunity for me as a cricketer. I was also very thankful and honoured people in the club put their faith in me to do the job.

What did you enjoy about being captain?

https://www.cricconnect.com/profile/161/western-suburbs-district-cricket-club-sydney/blog/1819/jack-clark-makes-it-a-winning-debut-as-captain-in-nsw-premier-cricket-5th-grade-at-just-17-years-of-age

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last year

Paul Ryan

Founder

Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

503 Likes
513 Followers

Recently I watched a young left arm medium pace bowler bowl to a right-hand batter with 7 fielders on the offside and only 2 on the leg side and it immediately reinforced how important the relationship between a bowler and captain is.
The young left arm bowler had taken the new ball and had the nice natural action to swing the ball into right hand batters.
The field set was 3 slips, a gully, a point, a cover and mid off and on the leg side was a mid-wicket and fine leg.
Left arm swing bowlers are so valuable as they ask so many questions of the batters. Is the ball going to swing into my pads or will it hold its line and straighten towards the slips.
If the bowler gets it right, they have LBW and bowled in play as well as a catch to the wicket keeper, slips, gully, or point.
However, the captain needs to give the bowler the confidence of being able to attack the stumps. If they stray just a fraction with only one fielder at mid-wicket in front of square on the leg side, it makes it easier for the batters to score runs.
It may mean the bowler starts concentrating bowling a 5th or 6th stump line which might negate the opportunity to swing the ball. Its not what any team wants for the new ball bowlers.
Personally, I’d have liked to see the captain remove the fielder at cover and put them at mid on and have a straighter mid-wicket and a fine leg.
It makes it a 6 – 3 field and will give the bowler more confidence of being able to pitch the ball up and swing the ball as they have the added protection of a mid-on and mid-wicket to minimise scoring opportunities and keep the pressure on the batter.
As there is now a gap in the field at cover it might encourage the batter to start playing cover drives which is exactly what the left arm bowlers wants because if the batter doesn’t execute the cover drive correctly, a catch behind the wicket may not be too far away.
Also with mid-wicket relatively straight the batter may look to score through square leg which may mean they start playing across the line to balls pitching on off or middle stump and the LBW and bowled is back in play.
It’s very important for the captain to get their field right in supporting their bowlers but it’s also important the captain creates an environment where bowlers have the confidence to speak up about how they’re looking to dismiss the batter and the field settings they’d like.
Communication is the key.

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last year

Shaun Graf

Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

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I was fortunate for most of my captaincy years at St Kilda I had top quality spinners, a young Shane Warne, Mark Osborne, former St George, and Vic player (right arm off spin), Peter Cox, former Vic (left arm orthodox), and John Emburey, former England, Middlesex right arm off spinner.… so not a bad lot!
Spinners were so much more fun to captain as you and they, always enjoyed setting a trap for the bats, attacking fields and luring them into the net – Warne’s flipper, Emburey’s arm ball, Cox’s doosra and Ossie’s fast, over spinning straight ball … the opportunities to set batters up was fascinating to watch, using the field to create false shots, building pressure then using these type of deliveries sparingly so as to get maximum impact when delivered!
In a Grand Final against Collingwood, both Warne and Osborne had bowled many overs, beat the bat, false shots etc however they couldn’t get out the last couple of batsmen, one being on over a hundred, a left-hand bat that had played for Vic. The state of the match was that in the last session (2 hours) of the final we needed two wickets, however they were playing for a draw as they were the top team at the end of the home and away season. So we really had to try and prise them out.
We were into the last hour needing a wicket desperately so instead of rotating my spinners or bringing on a quick I went to a part time left arm googly bowler, an experienced player, opening bat David Robinson (Vic/Tas) who bowled the occasional leggie.
In actual fact he got 3 wickets in a previous flag, which we won years earlier, so not the worse but like all left arm leggies they can bowl some crap but their most consistent and best ball is usually a wrong’un!
We spoke at the top of his mark, because he could bowl the wrong’un more comfortably we decided that to the in-batter, the left hander, he’d bowl all wrong’uns coming back into him then the 5th ball bowl the traditional leg break across the leftie, couldn’t have gone to plan better, he played all the wrong’uns well but by the 5th ball he was confident, did not look as closely and did not read the leg break which he played forward expecting it to come into him…wrong, outside edge, nicked to me at 1st slip and the rest is history …. Champagne and a a flag and a place in St Kilda’s rich history

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last year

Michael Blatherwick

Managing Director

Hucknall, United Kingdom

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In business the worse place to come in a deal (or tournament in the case of this analogy) is second. All the effort, hope and cost to be told you’ve just missed out, is soul destroying!

That’s why it’s best to qualify out or in with factors you know differentiate you from the competition.

In this regard, well done the England team for making an early call and qualifying out. 😉

Seriously, India will be hurting this morning, and it will take a while. However, they lost to an incredible Aussie team with strength in all departments and a brilliant game plan.

They set the tone with exceptional fielding and commitment to the plans even when India got off to a flyer.

That final partnership was fascinating to watch, especially the contrast in styles between Labuschane and Head. Some great lessons for young players on how to bat as a partnership and manage chasing down a score.

I reckon if these two teams played each other 10 times, it would be 5 each. It just happened to be Australia’s day. That’s cricket and business. Sometimes you just need a few things to go your way and stick to your plans to get the trophy. 🏆

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last year

Andrew Walton

Cricket Coach

Clifton Hill, Australia

9 Likes
5 Followers

What's the batting order captain?

Add a little creativity and let it flow.

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last year

Paul Ryan

Founder

Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

503 Likes
513 Followers

I remember a pre-season training session at Western Suburbs when I first came to Sydney and Australian cricketing great and club legend Alan Davidson spoke to the playing group about the benefits of hard work and training with purpose.

Mr. Davidson strongly emphasized the 6 Ps in cricket. Perfect Practice Prevent Piss Poor Performance.

All these years later I now know the 6Ps don’t just relate to cricket.

It’s human to want to know your role and not just in a cricket team. It’s in business, the workplace, and our personal lives. We all like to know where we fit in and the role we play.

The role of a captain in cricket is not just about what happens on the field or game day. It’s also important to know your players, what makes them tick and how you can help them feel better and more confident about the role you want them to play in the team.

A player who knows their role will tend to perform better than a player who is unsure and second-guessing their position.

https://www.cricconnect.com/profile/32/paul-ryan/blog/1735/when-should-a-cricket-captain-share-the-batting-order-with-their-players-and-the-team

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2 years ago

Rodney Tucker

Mollymook, New South Wales, Australia

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0 Followers

If I look back on my captaincy journey I would say that I am proud of what I achieved but also make some changes with hindsight and experience on my side.
I was made vice-captain of Tasmania in the 92/93 season until 95/96. David Boon was captain and he was away the majority of the time so I was captain for 80-90% of the games. I had Greg Shipperd as coach and a very young team that included Jamie Cox, Dene Hills, Ricky Ponting, Michael Divenuto, Chris Matthews, Danny Buckingham,Mark Atkinson. Over the next few years Colin Miller, Shaun Young and Mark Ridgway became permanent members of the side also. In those days Bellerive was a pretty flat wicket that was hard work for the bowlers. Greg Shipperd and I devised a plan that we would bowl first the majority of times and then try and chase down a total to win the game. This plan got us into the shield final against NSW in 93/94. So I would say my greatest captaincy achievement was to be the first Tasmanian captain in a shield final. Unfortunately, we were beaten soundly.
Looking back I think my captaincy was a little defensive and I let the coach influence my decisions too much at times. Having said that I was inexperienced and learning my trade. At the time we were being more successful than Tasmanian teams of the past so it's hard to argue against our tactics.
I have watched Ben Stokes with interest and at times with admiration. Being his own man and following his instincts. It just shows how much a captain's attitude can influence a team. Would he be the same captain without Brendon McCullum ? Would another coach give him as much freedom. Captains and coaches need to work closely together but it’s the captain that should have the final say.
Captaining a team can be a difficult job but also a rewarding one. I think at times I took myself too seriously and forgot about the fun side of the game. I have seen others do the same thing. The greatest example of this was Ross Taylor from NZ. A great player and a really good bloke. When he took on the captaincy it changed him completely. Luckily I think for him he was not in the job very long and went back to being a very good player for a long time for NZ.
So for me, the most important thing I learned was to be your own man and follow your instincts as much as possible. Remember when making important behaviour and cultural decisions ask yourself “What does the game expect? It helped me a lot when playing and also now when umpiring.
Good Luck to all.

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2 years ago

Joe Maiorana

Sydney, Australia

40 Likes
2 Followers

From an interview published in 1992

Interviewer: How would you define the role of captain? Having been such a successful captain you should have a better insight into the job. Would you like to explain?

Ian Chappell: To me, captaincy is two parts. There is captaincy which is on the field, the pinning up of the batting order, the handling of the bowling and the changing of the field, and there is leadership. That is time spent with players off the field. I am not talking about the time spent on cocktails. I am talking of time spent with the players. If the players have a problem, I have to listen to the problem and act upon it. If they have a fight against the board, I had to fight that fight.
Captaincy is not an 11 to 6 job. It is hell of a lot more than that. I think there are a lot of good captains around. Also, I think there are bloody awful leaders around. They cannot lead a backside. I think the amount of time spent with players off the field is what reaps the reward. That to me is the art of leadership, to get the best out of men.

Dennis Lillee: That’s right. The things he is talking about are what made him one of the most successful captains. In fact, the best I have played under. Illy [Ray Illingworth] was one I admired a lot too. You can only judge the captains you have played under and those you have played against. To my mind, Ian and Illy were two great ones.

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2 years ago

Paul Ryan

Founder

Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

503 Likes
513 Followers

One of the key ingredients in the art of captaincy is to ask questions and challenge the opposing captain and team into doing things they otherwise wouldn’t normally do.

The Ashes series between Australia and England is two days into the 4th test, and I’ve been fascinated by how Ben Stokes, as England captain, has got into the minds of Australia.

Forget Bazball, it’s Ben Stokes.

Australia is playing unrecognisable Australian cricket.

https://www.cricconnect.com/profile/32/paul-ryan/blog/1304/ben-stokes-has-australia-playing-unrecognisable-australian-cricket

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2 years ago

Matthew Treloar

Student

Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

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0 Followers

I play in the 2nd XI at school and last season we had a poor season and now struggling to get several of the players motivated for next season.
We had 19 players with so many players pulling out of games and we dropped something like 40 catches.
What advice can you offer to help as many of us will be moving up into the firsts and still very passionate for the team and the school to be better.

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2 years ago

Mark Van Epen

Gosford, NSW, Australia

15 Likes
0 Followers

I remember reading a detailed piece on captaincy by a long term first grade captain at Sydney University back in the 1980s (can’t remember his name). His advice was never to over attack tailenders because they get themselves out. I put this into practice and it worked for me in 2nd grade level. Therefore, Greg Rowell’s bowling strategy to a semi attacking field. Not sure if this would work at the modern test level but Greg’s comments make me think yes.

https://www.cricconnect.com/question/574/stuart-broad-had-a-couple-of-his-magic-spells-during-the-first-test-but-did-he-get-his-tactics-wrong-with-the-new-ball-in-the-second-innings-in-hindsight-was-he-trying-too-hard-to-york-the-lower

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2 years ago

Stuart MacGill

Cricket Coach

Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

35 Likes
6 Followers

When I moved from Perth to Sydney in 1995 finding the right club was very important to me. I was already 25 years old and felt like I was running out of time. I needed a heavy workload and plenty of wickets if I had any hope of playing for NSW. To do that I needed as much help as possible to learn the different conditions and Blues playing style. I wanted to fast track my route to regular first-class cricket.

Peter Philpott was helping me out and when I told him what I was looking for he said that there was really only one man for the job – Steve Rixon. Unsurprisingly Stumpa signed me up for Sutherland, but it was a great move. I bowled heaps of overs, and we won the premiership against one of the greatest Bankstown teams to take the field, thanks to our new ball pairing of McGrath and Clark.

When I made my debut for NSW at the beginning of the 1996-97 season, Stumpa was already on his next big adventure, coaching NZ. I have no idea where in the world or what the time difference was, but I received a call from him in the SCG changing rooms before we walked on the field. Time is no obstacle when something or someone is important to him… like when he would hideout in a hotel lobby waiting for me to come in late during a Shield match.

“Just make sure you bowl well today Macgilla…”

NSW played a very aggressive form of cricket and spin bowlers were always encouraged to attack first, apologise later. Stumpa never let me forget that. The NSW Hall of Fame is filled with players with a similar philosophy, so he fits right in. One major difference to most however is the way that he has shared our approach with the world during his career as a coach.

I was delighted to be present the night of his induction and was not surprised to hear the most positive and constructive words of the night come from him as he reflected on a rare off season for NSW cricket.

We share the same birthday (February 25) and the same love of the game. Personally, I am most grateful for the fact that Steve Rixon helped make my move from the green grass of the WACA to dustier decks of the SCG a successful one.

Thank you, mate.

Steve Rixon - inducted into Cricket NSW Hall of Fame -
https://www.cricconnect.com/question/384/on-the-5-april-2023-at-cricket-nsw-steve-waugh-medal-awards-night-steve-rixon-was-inducted-into-the-cricket-nsw-hall-of-fame-a-terrific-and-richly-deserved-accoladesteve-rixon-was-the-driver-of

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