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.
Posted by: Roger@1stslip at February 18, 2009 12:01 PM
Indeed Mike.
Strauss' more than anyone needed a "big one". Despite achieving this, I still feel that the English 'Captaincy' is not completely settled and everything including this present series pales into insignificance compared to the fast approaching Ashes showdown.
The big question is whether Strauss is a big enough character to be the strategic and psychological measure of Ponting and the Australians in the coming Ashes tussle as well as performing well himself. Pietersen was appointed England captain for the very reason that many felt he has the necessary confidence and pugnacious swagger to get under the Australians skin and get the better of them psychologically.
[Mike: Was pugnacious swagger the defining characteristic of Michael Vaughan's captaincy? In the fevered atmosphere of a home Ashes series, I'd suggest that cool rationality is probably more necessary in a captain than bravado.]
Posted by: waterbuffalo at February 18, 2009 11:51 PM
Much as I would like to see England tie the series I thought the 2 LBW decisions today were poor. Devon's was too high, and Gayle-well, his stride has to be one of the biggest in cricket, if either of them were plumb then I must be blind. The ball is turning away from off stump and Rudi gives his irritating slow death? The only person that needs a slow death is Rudi Koertzen, surely the worst umpire in modern times apart from Harper and Hair. These old guys need to quit and give the game over to younger blokes like Taufel and Aleem Dar. If I screwed up as much as Rudi I would have been sacked years ago.
Posted by: Roger@1stSlip at February 19, 2009 7:26 AM
Hi Mike .
What I was trying to convey when describing Pietersen's attributes/qualities in the captaincy role was the necessary 'physical' prescence. I believe that Ponting (who is just 5ft 9in tall) particularly is psychologically intimidated by physical size and height. Pietersen at 6ft 4in towers above Ponting. Ponting has recently lost series to both India and South Africa who in Kumble and Smith have captains that are both well over 6ft and physically dominate Ponting. Vaughan is also well over 6ft tall.
Andrew Strauss on the other hand is just 5ft 11in .
Posted by: waterbuffalo at February 19, 2009 5:56 PM
To "Roger"- Ponting lost because his bowlers couldn't bowl the Indians out and his batsmen failed miserably against SA's pace attack, not because both captains"were taller than him". I cannot believe an adult can come up with such a preposterous notion. Ponting has been facing tall fast bowlers ever since he was a kid in Tasmania and he has got a fair few runs in Test cricket, so I don't think he is intimidated by size.
Posted by: Fez at February 19, 2009 11:35 PM
@Roger, you've got me cracking mate. Well done. I don't think anyone would have noticed that.
Posted by: Roger@1stSlip at February 20, 2009 9:53 AM
Thanks Waterbuffalo
It seems that Ricky Ponting is susceptible in more ways than one when he faces a tall opponent.
Look at the recent Aus v SA Test series where Ponting's wicket was most often taken by Morkel who is very tall. And in the previous series Aus v India, Ponting fell most often to Ishant Sharma who is also v.tall.
Samir Chopra lives in Brooklyn and teaches Computer Science and Philosophy at the City University of New York; his academic interests include the philosophical foundations of artificial intelligence and the politics of technology. In his third undergraduate year, he captained Mathematics in the departmental cricket competition (and lost to Chemistry in the first round). Samir played C-grade cricket in Sydney and makes guest appearances for his old club when possible (and desirable). Samir runs the blog Eye on Cricket and the cricket page at The Faster Times.
Paul Ford is a co-founder of the New Zealand cricket supporters' cult, the Beige Brigade. He was once described by a current New Zealand cricketer as "looking spastic" even mucking about with an Excalibur and a tennis ball in the backyard. Paul bowls right-armed Nathan Astlesque "nudes", his batting would make Ewen Chatfield look elegant, and he is a committed fielder. He sometimes grows a beard to hide his double chin and inhabits a periphery of cricket that Cricinfo is proud to be glimpsing through this blog.
Stephen Gelb grew up in Cape Town, a short walk from the beautiful Newlands ground. Always a better student of the game than player, his passion for cricket survived eight years as a student in Canada, where he learned to love baseball too. He lives in Johannesburg doing economic research at The EDGE Institute and teaching at Wits University.
Mike Holmans, a database consultant by profession, has spent thirty summers (and a few winters) going to the cricket. Brought up in one and working in the other, his dearest wish is for a season to end with Yorkshire winning the county championship by beating runners-up Middlesex by one wicket with five minutes to go. If it’s also a summer when England win the Ashes, so much the better.
Born in Colombo, educated at Oxford and now living in Brisbane - Michael Jeh (Fox) is a cricket lover with a global perspective on the game. An Oxford Blue who played first-class cricket, he is a Playing Member of the MCC and still plays grade cricket. His views on cricket might best be described as those of a "modern traditionalist". Michael now works closely with elite athletes in his job as a manager at Griffith University in Queensland.
Saad Shafqat takes special pride that his cricket-watching life began during the three-month interval between Javed Miandad's debut Test in Lahore and Imran Khan's 12-wicket haul at Sydney. Although a practicing neurologist based in Karachi, cricket has never been far from his activities. He has co-authored Javed Miandad’s autobiography Cutting Edge and has been a contributor to Cricinfo since 2005. His regular column Reverse Swing appears fortnightly in Dawn, Pakistan’s leading English daily.
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