Strauss, Dhoni or Ponting

[Gunner_Mania]

There's a likelihood captaincy will play a decisive part in two major Test series involving India, Australia and England in the next few months. That being the case, let's look at recent leadership trends. The best way to gauge captaincy when you're following a game is to observe if the on-field tactics seem to have a logical pattern. If they do, there's a fair chance the skipper is on the ball. If, however, his moves bear no relationship to what the batsmen are doing, or the game situation, it probably means the captain has either dozed off or is out of his depth. This raises an interesting point about modern captaincy. I suspect teams devote too much time to pre-match plans and too little emphasis is placed on the "gut feel" aspect of captaincy. It's fine to have a loosely formed plan for each batsman but when it's not working, that's the time to adapt quickly. Show me a plan that regularly works against a batsman and I'll point out a slow-learning willow wielder and a very limited stroke-maker. Situations in which "the plan remains the plan" are unmasked when fieldsmen are automatically placed to save boundaries, even for a batsman new at the crease. If these guys then remain rooted to the spot like century-old statues, despite not fielding a ball for half an hour, the captain has an imagination that runs the full gamut from A to B. Good captains are well prepared, but they also rely on gut feeling. The premonition part of captaincy can provide a breakthrough that sparks a team's revival in a tense situation. That's why brave and inspirational leaders are often able to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat. In the Oval Test, England needed a spark to defeat Pakistan when the tourists were rolling to victory. Instead of being brave and taking a gamble, Andrew Strauss opted to put all his faith in Graeme Swann. It never pays to concentrate the bulk of your efforts on taking wickets at one end, and it certainly isn't a good ploy when you need a lot of victims in a hurry. On this evidence it's easy to conclude Strauss might struggle in Australia. A captain has to be imaginative and brave at times in Australia. This is especially true in Strauss's case because his pace attack is renowned mostly for excelling in conditions not often encountered in Australia, and judging by England's current batting form, runs will be at a premium. Both Strauss and his bowlers better be more adaptable than they were at The Oval or else their Ashes campaign will go off track in the manner of Steve Harmison's first delivery on the last tour of Australia. One English writer deemed this only a minor concern because "Ricky Ponting is not much of a tactician either." Sure, Ponting can be conservative but he has one major advantage over Strauss. When Ponting is pushed into a corner he will resort to all-out attack. He did so at Trent Bridge in 2005 and very nearly pulled off an amazing victory. Attack was also the basis for Australia's unlikely win over Pakistan at the SCG last summer. However, before he tangles with Strauss, Ponting has to confront India. MS Dhoni is tactically the most aggressive of the three captains but his confidence might be dented by leading an attack that has regressed lately. The outcome of the series against Australia could well depend on not only the performance of the Indian bowlers but also whether Dhoni can conjure up some magic that will inspire his leather-flingers. A modern captain can find numerous reasons for being conservative; among them heavier bats and the abundance of "containment cricket" played in the shorter versions of the game. Nevertheless, there are a few simple rules of captaincy that should never change: * Never concede you can't get a batsman out; always place a field that indicates you're still trying to take a wicket. * Don't willingly give up easy singles. * The more dire the situation, the braver the captaincy. Aggressive field placings boost a bowler's confidence and make him think about taking wickets rather than the consequences of bowling a bad ball. The captain who performs these tasks best in India and in the Ashes will increase his team's chances of winning two tough campaigns that could well swing on one or two bold move.

http://www.cricinfo.com/magazine/content/story/474793.html

[Serani]

That was written by someone who dislikes England. Ah yes Ian Chappell.

[fineleg]

Just looking at MSD - (i'm not interested in strauss or pwnter) Msd's selection of the playing 11 has been very poor. This shows mainly in Odis/t20, since for Tests batting selects itself. And usage of bowlers and field placements by dhoni leave a lot to be desired even in Tests.

[punjabi_khota]

Just looking at MSD - (i'm not interested in strauss or pwnter) Msd's selection of the playing 11 has been very poor. This shows mainly in Odis/t20, since for Tests batting selects itself. And usage of bowlers and field placements by dhoni leave a lot to be desired even in Tests.

Thats why we haven't lost a series under him yet :mad:

[rahulrulezz]

Just looking at MSD - (i'm not interested in strauss or pwnter) Msd's selection of the playing 11 has been very poor. This shows mainly in Odis/t20, since for Tests batting selects itself. And usage of bowlers and field placements by dhoni leave a lot to be desired even in Tests.

Though I am a fan of Dhoni, I totally agree with you on this

[fineleg]

Thanks rahul, and for the record, I also like MSD but it does not mean I can't criticize him. p.k: Our brilliant legendary batsmen provide enough cover to mask deficiencies in other areas (in Tests). But if you watch passages of play while bowlers operate, choice of bowlers/field placements have not been crisp & sharp.

[Gunner_Mania]

I agree with finey, there are passages of play when he appears completely bereft of ideas and lets the game meander untill something happens due to some sheer brilliancy by a fieldeer/bowler or bad batting and then he begins his refocus and tris to get his troops together.

[Lord]

what about Smith?:dontknow:

[Gunner_Mania]

I think Ian Chappel wrote it on the back of the fact that Australia or playing against India & Eng over the next few months.

[saneindian]

Give Strauss/Ponting/Smith a bowling lineup of Mithun, Ishant, Ojha and Mishra and ask them to lead in SL against SL. Smith with a bowling lineup of Ntini, Morkel, Steyn etc went o SL and lost 2-0. Australia under Punter have not toured SL since 2004 (when they had MCgrath and Warne taking wickets for fun). So as they say a captain is as good as the team he has.

[vamos_rafa]

Give Strauss/Ponting/Smith a bowling lineup of Mithun, Ishant, Ojha and Mishra and ask them to lead in SL against SL. Smith with a bowling lineup of Ntini, Morkel, Steyn etc went o SL and lost 2-0. Australia under Punter have not toured SL since 2004 (when they had MCgrath and Warne taking wickets for fun). So as they say a captain is as good as the team he has.

That is very well said saneindian. I agree with other post members that at times dhoni does get off the boil at times and his team selections are baffling atleast in ODIs . But I think we need to keep in mind that he keeps wickets as well. Not that I support all his wrong decisions but he has that extra and possibly the most draining assignment to take care of as well. Also I feel Dhoni has something which most other modern day captains lack i.e the gut feeling aspect. Sometimes I feel modern day captains are too methodical but Dhoni goes by his gut.

[kabira]

You guys forget Dhoni's ingenious 7-2 field against Aussies. That was sheer brilliance by him. On flat wickets, if nothing is happening, he does run out of ideas. But then who doesn't

[The Outsider]

Captaining on flat pitches in the subcontinent is a huge challenge. I've seen many great captains like Border, Taylor, Waugh, Smith etc. appear completely clueless when things are not going your way. It typically happens sometime during the first 3 days of the test when the match is still in it's first innings and the opposition batsmen are just piling on the runs. The ball is old, the sun is beating down, fielders are tired, bowlers are fatigued, there is no movement off straight lines. Dhoni has captained so many matches in these situations in such a short career. The key is not to fall too behind the game and when the opposition does make a mistake, then go in for the kill. Matches can change very quickly. Just look at the first innings of the test against South Africa at Calcutta as an example. One wicket goes down, the crowd gets involved, close in fielders pop in, new batsman in, and things can happen. However, I don't necessarily buy the notion of just keeping on trying things in completely unhelpful conditions. You might end up conceding too many runs and not able to come back. As long as there is a tight leash on the game, there is always a chance to capitalize on an opposition mistake. Defensive captaincy is not always bad captaincy, specially on dead Indian pitches.

[thevortex]

Ponting is a mediocre captain. Dhoni a middling one. Strauss - we dont know enough as yet. Not sure why Chappell wants to compare these three. Dhoni is an out and out defensive captain. Yes, it is not always bad captaincy. And there are times when you have to defend. Even Sehwag plays a defensive shot from time to time :). But defending when you are better off attacking is never good captaincy.

[vamos_rafa]

Ponting is a mediocre captain. Dhoni a middling one. Strauss - we dont know enough as yet. Not sure why Chappell wants to compare these three. Dhoni is an out and out defensive captain. Yes, it is not always bad captaincy. And there are times when you have to defend. Even Sehwag plays a defensive shot from time to time :). But defending when you are better off attacking is never good captaincy.

Ponting is a mediocre one for sure and Strauss is too young in this department. I don't think Dhoni is that defensive a captain as he is pelted out to be. As someone pointed out before, its tough to marshall your resources in sub-continent specially the feather beds. Anyways in the recent past,our attack has been such that containing seemed to be the only viable option. But there have been occasions where he has attacked like the kolkata test or the Border-gavaskar trophy where he had the resources and the conditions backing him.

[thevortex]

Ponting is a mediocre one for sure and Strauss is too young in this department. I don't think Dhoni is that defensive a captain as he is pelted out to be. As someone pointed out before, its tough to marshall your resources in sub-continent specially the feather beds. Anyways in the recent past,our attack has been such that containing seemed to be the only viable option. But there have been occasions where he has attacked like the kolkata test or the Border-gavaskar trophy where he had the resources and the conditions backing him.

Lets just say that I view him as a defensive captain. That is not to say that he has never attacked. He has just not attacked as a habit. He has not inculcated it as the team culture. When we had the chance to do that. I do not blame him entirely for that. But there it is...

[kabira]

Today, not a single captain is attacking. As soon as one batsman goes over the top, you will see change in field, even though they have runs on the board. Its got to do with attacking batsman and flat pitches.

[thevortex]

True to an extent, Kabira. Also one of the reasons why attacking spin bowlers are too few and far between.

[vamos_rafa]

True to an extent' date=' Kabira. Also one of the reasons why attacking spin bowlers are too few and far between.[/quote'] Couldn't agree with you more on spin bowlers. I think ODI and T20 is making them more of a containing bowlers and even the captains seem to abide by the role for them.

[ravishingravi]

When I saw Dhoni in the first test as captain in Mohali against Aus. I thought he will be the best captain the world. It is the best test Indian has played in my lifetime. Just played the Aus. off the park on a good pitch. But since then it has all gone downhil and he has become extremely defensivel. This year will be a test.