V Gangadhar: Cronje & Taylor Set Examples For Others (11 Jul 1996)

11 July 1996

Taylor and Cronje set an example that other national skippers should emulate

V Gangadhar

Captaincy is very much in the news these days. India is to get a new cricket captain, Sachin Tendulkar, after the disappointing tour of England. Beset by personal problems, Mohammad Azharuddin was unable to motivate his teammates.

His own batting form went down sharply and India`s miserable `away` record continued. Azhar, who suffered an ankle injury, did not field for the best part of England`s first innings in the Trent Bridge Test, but Tendulkar who deputised for him was clearly disappointing.

Though India needed a win to level the series, there was no urgency in the batting or bowling. Tendulkar overbowled Srinath and Venkatesh Prasad and neglected Anil Kumble for long periods. The accent was on defence. If this was a prelude to Tendulkar`s captaincy, we can put aside all the media hype over the dynamic approach of the Bombay star.

Michael Atherton was equally unimaginative. And seeing him bat against Srinath one could understand he was undergoing a nightmare. If only India had good slip fielders, Atherton would not have reached double figures even once in the series. This factor may help him in the forthcoming series against Pakistan whose fielders are more butter-fingered than ours.

But Atherton with his timely, though unconvincing century, retained his captaincy and his place in the English team. England, of course, was in the unenviable position of having no alternative to Atherton. Alec Stewart, who used to be vice-captain, is now not sure of his place in the team.

Courtney Walsh will lead the West Indies to Australia in November and try to regain the number one spot for his country. The appointment of Clive Lloyd as manager and fast bowler Malcolm Marshall as the coach confirm that the West Indies cricket board, is at last thinking on the right lines.

Walsh has proved to be a popular captain and leads by example. It remains to be seen if the new West Indies team management can persuade talented allrounder Carl Hooper to return to international cricket and perform to his potential. Hooper, pleading injury and loss of form, had dropped out of the World Cup squad and the home series against New Zealand.

But the more interesting developments revolved around the captains of Australia and South Africa. Both Mark Taylor and Hansie Cronje announced that because of international commitments, they would not lead their state sides, New South Wales and Free State, respectively.

Like many other international cricketers who are forced to play round the year, Taylor and Cronje hardly turn out for their state sides. Australia has such a busy schedule this winter that Taylor will represent NSW for only two Sheffield Shield matches and none of the one-dayers. Cronje faced the same problem.

I think Taylor and Cronje took the right decisions in the interests of their nations`s cricket. One of the duties of the captains of the state teams is to know the players well, tap their talents and find out if they can make it at the international level. Even while playing at the state level he had to keep an eye for possible talent.

But when the national captain was not available to play in state matches, his team invariably suffered on this account. Over the years, both Cronje and Taylor were unable to spot and nurture talent at the lower level. They realised their long absences were not in the interests of their state teams and wisely abdicated their positions.

The same problems persist in India too. For several years, Kapil Dev was the nominal captain of Haryana. But such was his schedule that he could seldom turn out for his state. Azharuddin was in the same boat. His captaincy of Hyderabad left much to be desired because he just did not know his players well enough.

Last year, Bombay was able to perform well in the Ranji Trophy because skipper Tendulkar became available for most matches at the knockout stage. He led the side from the front, tapped the potential of the players and the results were happy.

It is not necessary that the national captain should lead his state team. Len Hutton, even while leading England to victories in the Ashes series during the 1950s, played under Brian Sellers and Norman Yardley for the Yorkshire team.

His successor, Peter May of Surrey, found nothing wrong in playing under Stuart Surridge who led his country to several championship successes. Mark Taylor and Hanse Cronje have set examples which should be followed by other international stars who cannot spare time for state-level cricket.

While two captains opted out, one was roped in. The neversay-die David Houghton will be back to lead Zimbabwe on their Sri Lankan tour and home series against England and a one-day competition in South Africa, before bowing out of international cricket in March.

Houghton, the most outstanding batsman in the county was the captain when he announced his retirement and was replaced by Andy Flower. But such as Houghton;s form and fitness that he continued to play for his country. Now, with Andy Flower resigning as captain, Zimbabwe needed someone to lead for the interim period. And who better than veteran David Houghton who averages 49 in test cricket and is the official coach of the Worcestershire county?

Source :: Rediff On The NeT (https://www.redifindia.com)

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