West Indies Cricket Fans

Ian Chappell: the sort of captain players would give their all for © Getty Images

Ian Chappell was one of the great Ashes captains, regaining the urn in
1974-75 by four Tests to one. Here, he sets out the theory behind his
captaincy

===== Dogs need not apply=======

Australia's great old legspinner Bill "Tiger' O'Reilly used to write that a well-trained collie dog could captain a cricket team.Bear in mind that Tiger's normally sound judgment was impaired by the fact that most captains are batsmen. Bill was never kindly disposed to willow-wielders, even if they were on his side. He reasoned that at some point they would be an opponent, and that entitled them to be classed as the enemy. While I shared Tiger's implied admiration for man's best friend, I didn't entirely agree with his pet theory on captaincy.

Certainly a collie dog could arrange a batting order, manipulate the bowling changes and direct fieldsmen. However, they are only a minor part of the tasks confronting a captain. Before night cricket became such a spectacularly successful part of the game, I said that �captaincy is not an 11 to six job'. A skipper must be prepared to plant some seeds (by spending time with his players after hours) if he wants to reap rewards on the field and become a respected leader. Once he acquires that status he'll well on the way to becoming a good captain.

Respect is vital to a captain. He must earn it in three categories: as a player, as a human being and finally as a leader. If a captain achieves those aims and complements them with a good knowledge of the game which he applies with common sense and a dash of daring, and he's endowed with a reasonable share of luck, he's on the way to a rating of excellent. If he also has very good players around him, then there's no stopping the guy.

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Extracts from The Oxford Companion to Australian Cricket

Any one care to rate our unmerited Captain Scammy ?

As a player 3.5 / 10

Determined, committed, fit, available for selection.

1.3 wpi in Tests, A medium pacer, with no swing. Has picked up wickets on pitch's that have low or variable bounce. Occasional bonus of quick runs with his lower order power hitting.

As a human N/A

I not sure I'd be qualified to answer that but he doe's appear to be alive so I guess he can score a 1/10 for that.

As a leader 1.5/10

Determined. committed, fit, available for selection and keen.

His interviews don't reveal great insight or tactical know how, neither do his on field decisions. The IPL "nipple" stunt didn't do him any favors, neither did running from liks when India was setting all kinda records, Comments about CHG's re selection didn't show any man management skills. Deferring to Marlon Samuels, the "prominent" all rounder, in T 20 World finals invited the label of passenger.

I only wonder why I thought of Sammy before you asked the question even after the " collie reference " which initially through me off, for obvious reasons.