Clarke as captain....

[Cricket Tragic]

I've always loved his captaincy even when he took over for a few ODIs from Punter. He is probably the only captain in the world today who consistently looks for wickets right through an innings. Early days as test skipper though and we have to see how he goes. Such a refreshing change from the previous skip. A lot of captains tend to lose that edge (or attacking instinct) after a couple of years and become a lot more conservative so we'll have to wait and see. So far so good!

[TheYuvi02]

Good thread, I agree with you I was thinking almost the same thing while watching the first test match and this one :hatsoff:

[Crookbond]

Clarke's a thinking captain, says Hussey http://www.espncricinfo.com/sri-lanka-v-australia-2011/content/current/story/531646.html

No one in Pallekele was more surprised to see Michael Hussey handed the ball than the man himself. On a hunch from Australia's captain Michael Clarke, Hussey was brought on to disrupt a budding partnership between Kumar Sangakkara and Angelo Mathews, and in three balls' time he had enticed Sangakkara to push a catch to short extra cover. Job done, Hussey sauntered back to his position at gully, where he had earlier held a blinding catch to remove Mahela Jayawardene. Hussey returned neat figures of 1-1-0-1 and joked at the end of the day that he was more than happy to bowl only the one over because he "was starting to stiffen up already". According to him, there was method to Clarke's madness. "I couldn't believe Michael Clarke was going to give me a bowl," Hussey said. "He did sort of say he wouldn't mind giving me a couple of overs, because with a little less pace they [sri Lanka] might chip one out to cover and, obviously, he was spot on. It wasn't just about 'let's just give anyone a go', it was about trying to bowl a little slower. The pitch was slow and it was a bit hard to drive. He's certainly a thinking captain and yeah, he had the golden hand today. "It was a very valuable wicket for the team. I'll take it any day of the week because he's [sangakkara] one of the best players in the world and they had a pretty good partnership going. To be able to break that and give the guys a chance with the ball reversing a little was very fortuitous I think." Hussey's contribution summed up a day when Australia's skill and instinct was matched only by Sri Lanka's underachievement. Under such circumstances it is little wonder that the visitors are well and truly on the way towards a first series victory anywhere since defeating New Zealand early in 2010. As for the catch, Hussey rated it one of his most significant snares, removing the batsman who had held up Australia's push for victory in Galle with a masterly 105. "It's pretty special. Definitely, was a great reaction from the team. "It's always great to hang on to a spectacular catch but, more importantly, it was the wicket of Jayawardene who was a big thorn in our side down in Galle. I guess I was pretty lucky today in that the two wickets that were probably the key were in my hands." Australia's domination of Sri Lanka's batsmen has been almost total. Ryan Harris and Trent Copeland were precision personified with the new ball, while Nathan Lyon again bowled with courage and variety to the middle order. The bowlers, Hussey said, deserved a lot of credit for his side's success. "I think it's a real testament to the way the bowlers have gone about their work," he said. "They've been very patient. The surface out there is good. Despite it being a bit slow, making it hard to get the timing right, it's only as good as the bowlers bowl. If they bowl with width or err in length, you'll be able to score quite quickly out there. But our bowlers were very disciplined for long periods of time. "They're very clear in their minds about what they're trying to do and we've proven we can do it now for the first one and a half Test matches. But we've got to maintain that standard over longer periods of time if are to get back to where we want to be in the standings."

[TheYuvi02]

i thought it was a bad move to bring on hussey but it worked right away

[james]

Done well so far, real test will be against a better team - no not India :)

[BERGKAMP]

Pup is now a Dog.

[vamos_rafa]

I think its early days. We thought MSD was also a very aggresive when he started on. But different times and teams changes the way a captain functions.

[Bradman99]

I think its early days. We thought MSD was also a very aggresive when he started on. But different times and teams changes the way a captain functions.

This is true, the real test will come when we lose a few games and the media start to get onto him. Then again, the media were on to him before he even started! He has made a great start though.

[Cricket Tragic]

I think its early days. We thought MSD was also a very aggresive when he started on. But different times and teams changes the way a captain functions.

I mentioned that in my OP. Captains tend to become conservative over a period of time. In any case, I never thought of Dhoni as an attacking captain anyway. That's not to say that he isn't a good one.

[TheYuvi02]

I mentioned that in my OP. Captains tend to become conservative over a period of time. In any case, I never thought of Dhoni as an attacking captain anyway. That's not to say that he isn't a good one.

dhoni is not an attacking captain

[vamos_rafa]

I mentioned that in my OP. Captains tend to become conservative over a period of time. In any case, I never thought of Dhoni as an attacking captain anyway. That's not to say that he isn't a good one.

When he started off, he seemed to be so. the way he had captained in the Border- Gavaskar trophy in the 2 tests and the 1 test against Sa at Kanpur. But, he has had such a paltry attack off late that you really can't attack with ti can you?

[gaurav92]

^So you don't trust your bowlers to win matches for you ? As if being defensive will fetch you wickets ? Dhoni has been way too ordinary as captain in the recent months. He should be aggressive regardless of the kind of attack he has, he can't sit back and wait for the batsman to make mistakes, that is inviting danger

[TheYuvi02]

^So you don't trust your bowlers to win matches for you ? As if being defensive will fetch you wickets ? Dhoni has been way too ordinary as captain in the recent months. He should be aggressive regardless of the kind of attack he has, he can't sit back and wait for the batsman to make mistakes, that is inviting danger

bowlers win matches, holding/garner/marshall, mcgrath/gillespie/warne, rp singh/vinay kumar/munaf patel

[vamos_rafa]

^So you don't trust your bowlers to win matches for you ? As if being defensive will fetch you wickets ? Dhoni has been way too ordinary as captain in the recent months. He should be aggressive regardless of the kind of attack he has, he can't sit back and wait for the batsman to make mistakes, that is inviting danger

Chote, How do you expect him to attack when your bowlers can't bowl an over on the same side of the wicket? If he chooses to place an all off-side field, the bowlers are talented enough to leak 2 boundaries on the leg side. The problem is we neither have an attacking bowler nor a defensive or containing bowler. He has made credible use of the limited resources he had till now as Zak used to do a hell of a lot of covering up. Even in the Windies atleast he had Ishant coming to the party. But in England, te paltry bowling attack leaves him with no other option.

[gaurav92]

Chote, How do you expect him to attack when your bowlers can't bowl an over on the same side of the wicket? If he chooses to place an all off-side field, the bowlers are talented enough to leak 2 boundaries on the leg side. The problem is we neither have an attacking bowler nor a defensive or containing bowler. He has made credible use of the limited resources he had till now as Zak used to do a hell of a lot of covering up. Even in the Windies atleast he had Ishant coming to the party. But in England, te paltry bowling attack leaves him with no other option.

Oh yes we miss him :(( When Zak was there, he hardly put a foot wrong, mainly because Zak told him where to place the field and guided the other bowlers too as to where to bowl and where to place the fielders. Now that Zak is not here, he is missing the plot and so are the other bowlers.