Head to Head

With the WI-England series only four completed innings old, both Andrew Strauss and Chris Gayle had produced uncharacteristic centuries of considerable stature. Neither were the traditional “captain’s innings” played when the side is in big trouble, but they were important innings for them as captains. As one of the ex-England skippers in the Sky commentary box observed, it is one thing to stand up in front of a team meeting and say how you want people to play, and quite another to go out in the middle and give a practical demonstration.

Pre-captaincy, Gayle had a one-track mind. He would go out and hit the ball as hard as he could until he was out, which could be anything from five minutes to five hours later, depending on the skill or luck of the bowlers. Since acceding to the captaincy, however, his batting has become more richly-textured and better attuned to the situation his team is in.

England’s first innings in Jamaica raised only a moderate challenge on an uninteresting pitch. There was no need to hurry in reply; what mattered was achieving a first innings lead and Gayle was perfectly content to reach it at whatever time it arrived, just so long as it eventually did. He only broke from patient accumulation for a calculated thwacking of Panesar’s fragile composure, and was dismissed by an awkward ball which snaked through his defence rather than holing out. Of those who followed him, only Xavier Marshall failed to hang around and chisel out hard-won runs.

The horrors of England’s collapse in the second innings required immediate exorcism to arrest the downward spiral. Strauss’s centuries in 2008 had been measured exercises, exuding calmness and responsibility, but the team now needed more than reassurance. He responded by playing in the bellicose style of Graham Smith, giving his most rousingly watchable display for years. He normally plays almost entirely off the back foot, with the odd drive thrown in by way of variation. He only comes forward regularly when he is seriously confident, so his assertive off-driving at the ARG not only spoke volumes about his own state of mind but sent a powerful message to the team. In their turn, they were enterprising in the push to a declaration total, in marked contrast to the neuralgic scratching they had employed before Christmas at Chennai.

A captain establishes his right to lead his players by doing important things which merit his players’ respect. Without achievements on the field, authority dissipates. An ability to play conjuring tricks with bowling attacks and field settings can do it, but agenda-setting hundreds are much more reliable.

Gayle’s century at Sabina extended his register of significant deeds and thus augmented his leadership credentials. England have been in need of stable leadership for some time, so it does Strauss no end of good to have played such an authoritative innings so early in his reign.

Neither were first choices as captains. The WICB did everything they could to prevent Gayle getting the job until passing over him would have been excessively bizarre even by their own high standards. England chose passionate superstars in the hope of fireworks only to have them explode prematurely or fly off in the wrong directions.

Maybe the convulsions which preceded their appointments were necessary to clear their passage. Maybe if they had been appointed earlier, almost nothing could have quelled the rumblings in favour of one of those who failed. But now both of them look as secure in their jobs as anyone can reasonably be in international sport, for their times have (finally) come.