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Benaud's assessment of cricket captains
By Aubrey Kuruppu
Richie Benaud, brilliant captain, top class leg spinner, outstanding gully fielder and aggressive batsman with a few test hundreds to his credit (in brief, an all rounder in the true sense of the word, not a pseudo one!) is the speaker (and writer) of many a discerning, perspective comment. His thoughts on captaincy are thereafter very acceptable and compulsive reading for present-day cricketers and captains.

But first two incidents about the man that bear retelling in order to show how much insight he had in reading the game. Brisbane 196/61 and that famous tried test. At tea on day five, Australia were 92/6 in pursuit of a total of supreme both-Davidson and Benavd) at the crease. Chairman of selectors Sir Donald Bradman appeared in the dressing-room and asked Benavd what he was going to do. "Were going for it" was what he said and the Don wisely nodded his agreement. Benaud 52 and Davidson 80 run out (the latter also took 11 wickets in the match) took the score to 226 before the captain departed.

Three run outs (two of them direct hits from side on by Joe Soloman) ensured that the match was tied. But Benavd and Worrell had played their part in what was then (and probably still is) the greatest test match.

The scene shifts to old Trafford in 1961 and the old enemy was at the receiving end. Davidson, once again, had it Australia back into the game on the morning of day five. The majestic Ted Dexter (76) was smashing all the bowlers out of the park and at 150-1 they needed a further 104 runs. Benavd, troubled by a shoulder injury had in fact missed one of the earlier tests, now made the decision to go around the wicket and use the rough created by England's Fred Treuman. The Aussie skipper tvok 6-7 and the Englishman self-destructed to lose by 54 runs. One win, one tied game, but Benaud's attacking approach was plain to see.

Back to Benaud's words of wisdom which need to be quoted in full. "Captaincy is 90 per cent luck and 10 per cent skill, but for heaven's sake don't try it without that little 10 per cent". He goes on:" The captain who sees an opening and goes straight for the Figulor is the one who is drinking the Champagne at the end of the day. The one who muses about it for an over or two before belatedly making the nerve-tingling decision, is the one who reads about the next test series from the comfort of his living room….and making slightly sarcastic comments on the quality of leadership displayed by his successor." Benaud's words certainly ring a bell, don't they?

The Sri Lankan selectors have elevated (once more!) Jayawardena to the vice captaincy for good reasons no doubt. However spare a thought for the unsung Chaminda Vaas who has given his all in Sri Lanka's cause, be it with bat or ball. He has led his club with distinction and the deputy leadership would have been a fitting reward for a fine cricketer who doesn't have too many summers left.

The question of gas in the tank does not, one presumes, apply in the case of Vaas. Was his rush of blood at Asgiriya held against him or was it in keeping with the theory that you don't saddle one of your two outstanding bowlers with added responsibility?

Benaud has his own thoughts on the subject: "I do not go along with the idea that an outstanding batsman, bowler or all rounder will have too much on his plate without worrying about the added responsibility of making all the tactical decisions. I regard that as a challenge rather than a deterrent."

Bob Willis, great trier and true blue Englishman, led England in Australia in the early eighties and the experiment was an object-failure. Willis was too wrapped up and cocooned in his own thoughts while bowling and the tactical decisions, field adjustments were largely done by Gower, Taylor and Botham. It was captaincy by committee and it was not an uncommon sight to see fielders being warred to and fro by the members of the committee while Willis was on his long walk to his mark. Says Benavd: It is a shame that Bob Willis set back by approximately a hundred years the idea of bowlers captaining test match teams.."

Another English icon, Ian Botham, more temperamental and tempestuous a character than Willis, had a horrible run of 12 tests and threw in his hand before he was shown the door. Botham was no tactical genius. His tactical skills consisted of trying to win a match by blasting the opposition out either with bat or ball. In fairness, it must be said that 10 of the tests he captained were against the West Indies, home and away. At that time, the West Indies had the likes of Richards, Lloyd, Grrenidge, Haynes and the pace quartette. That is a far cry from the likes of Gayle, Sarwan, Rayan Hinds, Adam Sanford and Tino Best!!

Finally to the man hailed by many as one of the best English captains ever. His name and fortunes were inextricably tinked with the name and exploits of Ian Botham. Mike Brearley, in all probability, did not warrant a place in the side on the strength of his batting skills. However he is credited with getting the best out of Botham.

He also led his team to victory in Australia and at home over Pakistan. But this was in the time when these teams were shorn of the packer players. Significantly, when the Aussies were back at full-strength , they whipped Brearley team 3-0 in a series in which England declined to put the Ashes on after on the grounds that it was a truncated one.

Coming back to Sri Lanka and her captains- Warnapura, Mendis, D.S. de Silva, Madugalle Aravinda de Silva, Ranatunga, Tillekeratne, Mahanama and Jayasuriya. A couple of them had extremely brief tenures and thus a fair evaluation is not possible. By Benaud's very strict yard-stick, the field could be narrowed down to two or three!

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