Will Dravid the batsman cope with captaincy?
When a player is named captain, you wonder what effect the added responsibility will have on his form. This week, the List looks at batsmen who've struggled as captain and captains who've thrived as batsmen
Travis Basevi and George Binoy
08-Feb-2006
Some statistics, like Bradman's average and the number of centuries Tendulkar has made are known to pretty much every cricket buff. But The List will bring you facts and figures that aren't so obvious, adding fuel to those fiery debates about the most valuable middle-order bat, and the most useless tailender. If there's a particular List that you would like to see, e-mail us with your comments and suggestions.
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When a player is named captain, you wonder what effect the added responsibility will have on his form. This week, the List looks at batsmen who've struggled as captain and captains who've thrived as batsmen.
Rahul Dravid has been India's batting cornerstone in Tests for several years now and is as dependable as his average of 57.65 indicates. But how has Dravid the batsman fared under the pressure of captaincy? Before his proper appointment, Dravid averaged 17.25 in five Tests as stand-in captain without a single score over 35. Since the series against Sri Lanka at home, Dravid has begun to repair that record, averaging 58.33 in five Tests, with back-to-back hundreds against Pakistan. He now averages 34.85 as captain but with just ten Tests under his belt, it remains to be seen whether his batting will continue to flourish.
Perhaps it is the weight of massive expectation because Dravid's poor form as captain is consistent with the batting records of all Indian captains (in 10 or more Tests) with the marginal exception of Kapil Dev and Bishan Bedi. Sourav Ganguly , India's most successful captain, averaged 37.66 as opposed to 44.33 in the 39 Tests he wasn't captain. Mohammad Azharuddin , Sachin Tendulkar , Sunil Gavaskar , Dilip Vengsarkar , Ajit Wadekar , Vijay Hazare and Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi and Nari Contractor all averaged lesser, though some marginally so, as captain.
Player | Span | Capt | Runs | Ave | 100 | Not | Runs | Ave | 100 | Diff | |||
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R Dravid (ICC/India) | 1996-2006 | 10 | 488 | 34.85 | 2 | 87 | 7756 | 60.12 | 20 | -25.266 | |||
IT Botham (Eng) | 1977-1992 | 12 | 276 | 13.14 | 0 | 90 | 4924 | 36.74 | 14 | -23.603 | |||
J Darling (Aust) | 1894-1905 | 21 | 750 | 21.42 | 0 | 13 | 907 | 39.43 | 3 | -18.006 | |||
VS Hazare (India) | 1946-1953 | 14 | 874 | 39.72 | 2 | 16 | 1318 | 54.91 | 5 | -15.189 | |||
MP Vaughan (Eng) | 1999-2005 | 33 | 2046 | 35.89 | 6 | 31 | 2549 | 50.97 | 9 | -15.085 | |||
GOB Allen (Eng) | 1930-1948 | 11 | 271 | 16.93 | 0 | 14 | 479 | 31.93 | 1 | -14.995 | |||
JC Adams (WI) | 1992-2001 | 15 | 686 | 31.18 | 1 | 39 | 2326 | 45.60 | 5 | -14.426 | |||
GM Turner (NZ) | 1969-1983 | 10 | 616 | 34.22 | 2 | 31 | 2375 | 48.46 | 5 | -14.247 | |||
RB Richardson (WI) | 1983-1995 | 24 | 1302 | 35.18 | 2 | 62 | 4647 | 47.90 | 14 | -12.718 | |||
FMM Worrell (WI) | 1948-1963 | 15 | 849 | 40.42 | 0 | 36 | 3011 | 52.82 | 9 | -12.395 |
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Perhaps the most outstanding example of leading by example was Imran Khan. Five of Imran's six Test hundreds and 14 of his 18 fifties came in 48 Tests as captain . His average during that time was 52.34, higher than the averages of Ian Chappell, Clive Lloyd, Steve Waugh, Gavaskar and Javed Miandad. Before being given the captaincy, Imran averaged around 25 with both bat and ball but the increased responsibility suited his inspirational character well. Unlike several allrounders, his bowling didn't suffer while his batting improved: Imran averaged 20.26 with the ball and four of his six ten-wicket hauls came as captain.
Bob Simpson took 30 Tests to score his first century and when he did breach that barrier in his seventh Test as captain of Australia, he made it count by scoring 311. While Simpson scored all his ten centuries as captain, none of Ian Botham's 14 hundreds and only one fifty came during the 12 Tests that he led England. Handed the responsibility after just three years and 25 matches on the international circuit, Botham floundered miserably and averaged 13.14 with the bat. England won nothing under Botham and he resigned after the second Ashes Test at Lord's in 1981. Such was Botham's relief that in the remaining four Tests under Mike Brearley he hit a stunning streak and scripted the famous `Botham's Ashes.'
Player | Span | Capt | Runs | Ave | 100 | Not | Runs | Ave | 100 | Diff | |||
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Imran Khan (Pak) | 1971-1992 | 48 | 2408 | 52.34 | 5 | 40 | 1399 | 25.43 | 1 | 26.911 | |||
GA Gooch (Eng) | 1975-1995 | 34 | 3582 | 58.72 | 11 | 84 | 5318 | 35.93 | 9 | 22.788 | |||
TL Goddard (SAf) | 1955-1970 | 13 | 1092 | 49.63 | 1 | 28 | 1424 | 27.92 | 0 | 21.714 | |||
RB Simpson (Aust) | 1957-1978 | 39 | 3623 | 54.07 | 10 | 23 | 1246 | 33.67 | 0 | 20.398 | |||
WW Armstrong (Aust) | 1902-1921 | 10 | 616 | 56.00 | 3 | 40 | 2247 | 35.66 | 3 | 20.333 | |||
HH Streak (Zimb) | 1993-2005 | 21 | 1013 | 36.17 | 1 | 44 | 977 | 16.01 | 0 | 20.162 | |||
Hanif Mohammad (Pak) | 1952-1969 | 11 | 881 | 58.73 | 4 | 44 | 3034 | 41.00 | 8 | 17.733 | |||
PBH May (Eng) | 1951-1961 | 41 | 3080 | 54.03 | 10 | 25 | 1457 | 36.42 | 3 | 17.610 | |||
T Taibu (Zimb) | 2001-2005 | 10 | 674 | 37.44 | 1 | 14 | 599 | 23.96 | 0 | 13.484 | |||
Inzamam-ul-Haq (ICC/Pak) | 1992-2006 | 19 | 1756 | 62.71 | 7 | 88 | 6416 | 49.35 | 18 | 13.360 |
As captain, Graham Gooch was a vastly better Test batsman but his form suffered in the one-day format. Around 1990 when Gooch was pulverising Test attacks at 58.72 per innings, bowlers tied him down to an average of 29.95 in ODIs. Gooch scored just one hundred and seven half-centuries in 50 ODIs as captain.
Inzamam-ul-Haq has been in magnificent form after his axing - albeit briefly - following a disastrous World Cup and he's been the rock around which Pakistan have rallied. In just 19 Tests as captain, Inzaman has hit 7 hundreds and 10 fifties and his ODI average is close to touching 50. Captaincy also did wonders for Heath Streak's batting in both forms of the game. In 68 ODIs as captain, Streak averages nearly 40 as opposed to the 22.23 while not leading the side. His only Test hundred was scored as captain and his average as captain in Tests is 36.17.
Player | Span | Capt | Runs | Ave | 100 | Not | Runs | Ave | 100 | Diff | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
HH Streak (Afr/Zimb) | 1993-2005 | 68 | 1431 | 39.75 | 0 | 121 | 1512 | 22.23 | 0 | 17.514 | |||
GS Chappell (Aust) | 1971-1983 | 49 | 1718 | 45.21 | 3 | 25 | 613 | 30.64 | 0 | 14.560 | |||
Inzamam-ul-Haq (Asia/Pak) | 1991-2006 | 64 | 2227 | 49.48 | 2 | 288 | 8930 | 38.32 | 8 | 11.162 | |||
Aamer Sohail (Pak) | 1990-2000 | 22 | 830 | 41.50 | 1 | 134 | 3950 | 30.38 | 4 | 11.115 | |||
ST Jayasuriya (Asia/SL) | 1989-2006 | 118 | 4377 | 38.73 | 10 | 232 | 6079 | 28.53 | 9 | 10.194 | |||
Khaled Mashud (Bang) | 1995-2005 | 24 | 492 | 28.94 | 0 | 78 | 1044 | 18.98 | 0 | 9.959 | |||
JG Wright (NZ) | 1978-1992 | 31 | 1062 | 34.25 | 1 | 118 | 2829 | 24.38 | 0 | 9.870 | |||
MD Crowe (NZ) | 1982-1995 | 44 | 1634 | 45.38 | 1 | 99 | 3070 | 35.69 | 3 | 9.691 | |||
Imran Khan (Pak) | 1974-1992 | 139 | 3247 | 34.91 | 1 | 36 | 462 | 25.66 | 0 | 9.247 | |||
N Kapil Dev (India) | 1978-1994 | 74 | 1538 | 29.57 | 1 | 151 | 2245 | 20.98 | 0 | 8.595 |
Player | Span | Capt | Runs | Ave | 100 | Not | Runs | Ave | 100 | Diff | |||
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IVA Richards (WI) | 1975-1991 | 105 | 3105 | 38.81 | 3 | 82 | 3616 | 57.39 | 8 | -18.584 | |||
A Flower (Zimb) | 1992-2003 | 52 | 1207 | 25.14 | 0 | 161 | 5579 | 38.74 | 4 | -13.597 | |||
AJ Stewart (Eng) | 1989-2003 | 41 | 924 | 23.10 | 0 | 129 | 3753 | 34.75 | 4 | -11.649 | |||
GA Gooch (Eng) | 1976-1995 | 50 | 1378 | 29.95 | 1 | 75 | 2912 | 41.60 | 7 | -11.643 | |||
MO Odumbe (Kenya) | 1996-2003 | 20 | 359 | 18.89 | 0 | 41 | 1050 | 30.00 | 0 | -11.105 | |||
SM Pollock (Afr/ICC/SAf) | 1996-2006 | 97 | 689 | 18.13 | 0 | 157 | 1941 | 27.33 | 0 | -9.206 | |||
SM Gavaskar (India) | 1974-1987 | 38 | 778 | 28.81 | 0 | 70 | 2314 | 37.93 | 1 | -9.119 | |||
KC Wessels (Aust/SAf) | 1983-1994 | 52 | 1416 | 30.12 | 0 | 57 | 1951 | 38.25 | 1 | -8.127 | |||
SR Tendulkar (India) | 1989-2006 | 73 | 2454 | 37.75 | 6 | 286 | 11555 | 45.85 | 33 | -8.099 | |||
DI Gower (Eng) | 1978-1991 | 24 | 601 | 25.04 | 1 | 90 | 2569 | 32.51 | 6 | -7.477 |
If there's a particular List that you would like to see, e-mail us with your comments and suggestions.
George Binoy is editorial assistant of Cricinfo