Captains Of This Era

               Captains of this era have all been the perfect ones for their respective countries, if one considers the situation that each country was in at the time of being made captain. Andrew Strauss, Graeme Smith, Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Ricky Ponting have all been good captains given the records that they possess even after such lengthy stays at the international level as captains. The thing that was common amongst these people was that they all had a good base for them to start on. Strauss was probably the one amongst these four to have started on shaky ground.

Statistics as Captain for each player.

              
               Three people who catch the eye are Michael Clarke, Misbah-ul-Haq and Darren Sammy. All these 3 have been captain for about the same number of Tests which is one of the several similarites between them. But, the most important aspect that they possess is that they look to innovate when things don't go their way. Clarke and Misbah have the statistics to prove that their attitude is right, but Sammy even though hasn't had a lot of success, has come close on several occasions mainly because of the way he runs the team.

MJ Clarke, Captain, Australia

                       Michael Clarke, in the recently concluded Test against the West Indies in Bridgetown pulled off a brilliant act, declaring a good 43 runs behind the West Indies' 1st inning total which enabled his team to win the Test after having been in a position where everyone thought they would find it hard to save the Test. Agreed that Ryan Harris, Ben Hilfenhaus and Nathan Lyon were the ones who put Clarke in a position to make that decision, but he had to keep thinking of the state of the game in the dressing room when the tail-enders were batting, to grab the opportunity when it came. One can grab any opportunity that comes one's way only if one can foresee an opportunity for the taking, which Clarke did and these are things that you would find in great captains.

DJG Sammy, Captain, West Indies

                         Darren Sammy is a real good captain, given the situation in which he had to take over the captaincy and all the criticism he used to get for being not much of either a bowler or a batsman. He might not be a brilliant bowler or a batsman, but certainly does put in the effort which rubs off on the others in the team. Out of the 5 losses, the West Indies have been in winning positions, against India in Kingston previous year and against Australia in Bridgetown, a few days ago. Under Sammy, the West Indies look like a unit who gel well together. The West Indies did not need a star batsman or a bowler as a captain after Gayle. They needed a guy who worked hard and would put the team together, who, I think they have found in Darren Sammy.

Misbah-ul-Haq, Captain, Pakistan

                     Afridi, an impulsive guy, decided to take retirement after a pretty successful World Cup. With 2 of their strike bowlers being consumed by the spot-fixing scandal and with no team agreeing to tour Pakistan, times were tough and a guy who could restore some calm in the chaos-infested Pakistan team was needed. Misbah-ul-Haq has proven to be the perfect guy for this situation. There is something about Pakistan and good bowlers. They never seem to be exhausted of good fast bowlers or spinners and this time it wasn't any different when they found Aizaz Cheema and Abdur Rehman. But, Misbah-ul-Haq had a major role in keeping calm in the team which he did well and has brought victories after victories. He is probably the only captain to have captained all of his first 15 Tests away. Under Misbah, Pakistan have transformed into a very organised side, winning dramatic tests against England and Sri Lanka. The England series was a true test to Misbah's skills as captain and he has come out with flying colours, as Pakistan won Tests from points where they were not in contention to save the Test. Misbah, in his own way has begun a different era for Pakistan Cricket.

                         As I write, Michael Clarke and Darren Sammy go head-to-head in the 2nd Test at Port-of-Spain. Misbah-ul-Haq would be gearing up to captain his team for the first time at home against Bangladesh. Each of these captains have made their mark by being thinking captains. As time would go by, I would think, Michael Clarke would go on to be on of the greatest captains that we have seen, Darren Sammy would be remembered as the captain who saved West Indies cricket and Misbah-ul-Haq would be remembered as the captain who restored faith in cricketers amongst all cricket followers, mainly in Pakistan.

                         Of all the captains Michael Clarke would stand out as the best of this era mainly because of the minimal number of draws that he would produce.