Cricket Captain

The captain of a cricket team, often referred to as the skipper, is the appointed leader, having several additional roles and responsibilities over and above those of the other players.

As in other sports, the captain is usually experienced and has good communication skills, and is likely to be one of the most regular members of the team, as the captain is responsible for the team selection. Before the game the captains toss for innings. During the match the captain decides the team's batting order, who will bowl each over, and where each fielder will be positioned. While the captain has the final say, decisions are often collaborative. A captain's knowledge of the complexities of cricket strategy and tactics, and shrewdness in the field, may contribute significantly to the team's success.

Cricket Captain
Cricket Captain
Graeme Smith (left) holds the record for most Test matches as captain, as well as most Test wins. Steve Waugh (right) is the most successful Test captain, with a winning ratio of 72%.
Cricket Captain
Cricket Captain
Some countries opt for a split captaincy, with different captains for different formats to manage workload. Tim Southee (left) captains New Zealand in Tests, while Kane Williamson (right) leads the team in ODIs and T20Is.

Due to the smaller coaching/management role played out by support staff, as well as the need for greater on-field decision-making, the captain of a cricket team typically shoulders more responsibility for results than team captains in other sports.

Captain's responsibilities

During a match

The toss

Starting from team selection and then toss Before the start of a match the home captain tosses a coin and the away captain calls heads or tails. The captain who wins the toss is given the choice of whether to bat or bowl first. The decision usually depends on the condition of the pitch and whether it is likely to deteriorate, the weather conditions and the weather forecast.

The decision also depends on the relative strengths of the team's batting and bowling. For instance in Test cricket, a side with only fast bowlers may choose to bowl first to try to take advantage of any early moisture in the pitch, knowing that it will be harder to take wickets later in the match. Similarly a side with a weak opening batting pair may choose to bowl first in order to protect their batsmen.

Fielding positions

The captain decides where the fielders will stand, in consultation with the bowler and sometimes other senior players. The fielding positions will usually be dictated by the type of bowler, the batsman's batting style, and the captain's assessment of the state of the match (and hence whether to set an attacking or a defensive field).

Bowling

The captain decides when each bowler will bowl. If a batsman is seeking to dominate the current bowler, the captain may ask someone else to bowl; alternatively, keeping the bowler on may be deemed the best chance of getting the batsman out or restricting the scoring rate. If the regular bowlers are not achieving the desired results, the captain may decide to use non-regular bowlers to attempt to unsettle the batsmen. The captain may also change the bowlers around to introduce variation, and to prevent the batsmen getting "set".

In limited overs cricket the captain additionally has to make certain that bowlers bowl no more than their allotted maximum number of overs, and that experienced bowlers are available at the end of the batting side's innings, when the batsmen are usually looking to take risks to attack and score quickly.

In the longer forms of cricket, when a new ball becomes available the captain decides whether to use it, and when given that it can be taken any time after it becomes available.

Batting order

When the team bats, the captain decides the batting order. In professional cricket the captain usually changes the established batting order only for exceptional reasons, because batsmen tend to specialise in batting at certain positions. However, in certain circumstances it may be in the team's interest to change the batting order. If quick runs are needed, a naturally attacking batsman may be promoted up the order. A player who is 'in form' may be promoted to a higher batting position, at the expense of a player who is 'out of form'.

If a wicket falls near the end of a day's play, especially if the light is failing, or if the bowlers seem particularly confident, the captain may choose to send in a non-specialist batsman, referred to as a nightwatchman. If the nightwatchman does not get out before the end of that day's play then the specialist batsman will have been protected, and will not need to bat until the following day when conditions are likely to have improved. If the nightwatchman does get out, the cost of losing a late wicket will have been minimised, because the specialist batsman is still available to bat.

Declarations

The captain may declare the team's innings closed at any time, but usually only does so as an attacking ploy, for instance if the captain thinks the team has enough runs to win the match, or if a sudden change in conditions has made it advantageous to bowl rather than bat.

Follow-on

In a two-innings match, if the situation arises the captain decides whether to impose the follow-on.

Appeals

Fielding captains may withdraw appeals with consent of the umpires. This often occurs in cases of injury, miscommunication, or unsportsmanlike conduct, and is considered to uphold the spirit of cricket and fair play within the game.

Miscellaneous

The captain is also consulted on whether an injured batsman from the opposing team may use a runner when batting. Permission is usually given if the batsman has become injured during the course of the match, but if the batsman was carrying the injury at the start of the match then the captain may refuse. (As of 2012, runners are not allowed in Test cricket and injured batsmen are required to continue batting with the injury or retire hurt.)

Other duties

As well as decisions taken either immediately before or during a match, captains also often have some responsibility for the good running of the cricket club. For instance, they may decide when the team is to practice, and for how long. In professional cricket the captain often has some say in who will form the squad from which teams are selected, and may also decide how young up-and-coming players are to be encouraged and improved, and how members of the squad who are not regularly selected for first-team matches are to gain match practice.

Prior to July 2015, the captain was responsible for deciding when to take batting and bowling powerplays in limited overs matches.

Vice-captain

Cricket Captain 
Vice-captains are sometimes considered the full-time successor to the incumbent captain. Michael Clarke was Australia's vice-captain for three years before succeeding Ricky Ponting as captain in 2011.

The captain may be assisted by a vice-captain or in some instances joint vice-captains. This is particularly useful if the captain is forced to leave the field of play during fielding. Some teams also allocate the vice-captain a more or less formal role in assisting with team selection, discipline, field-setting and so on. Sometimes the role of vice-captain is seen as preparation for the player(s) becoming the captain of the side in future.

Current men's international captains

ICC Full Members

Nation Format Captain Vice-captain(s)
Cricket Captain  Afghanistan Test Hashmatullah Shahidi Rahmat Shah
ODI
T20I Rashid Khan Ibrahim Zadran
Cricket Captain  Australia Test Pat Cummins Steve Smith / Travis Head
ODI Mitchell Marsh
T20I Mitchell Marsh Matthew Wade
Cricket Captain  Bangladesh Test Najmul Hossain Shanto Vacant
ODI
T20I
Cricket Captain  England Test Ben Stokes Ollie Pope
ODI Jos Buttler Vacant
T20I
Cricket Captain  India Test Rohit Sharma Jasprit Bumrah
ODI Hardik Pandya
T20I
Cricket Captain  Ireland Test Andrew Balbirnie Paul Stirling
ODI Paul Stirling Vacant
T20I
Cricket Captain  New Zealand Test Tim Southee Tom Latham
ODI Kane Williamson
T20I Mitchell Santner
Cricket Captain  Pakistan Test Shan Masood Vacant
ODI Vacant
T20I Shaheen Shah Afridi Mohammad Rizwan
Cricket Captain  South Africa Test Temba Bavuma Neil Brand
ODI Aiden Markram
T20I Aiden Markram Vacant
Cricket Captain  Sri Lanka Test Dhananjaya de Silva Kusal Mendis
ODI Kusal Mendis Charith Asalanka
T20I Wanindu Hasaranga
Cricket Captain  West Indies Test Kraigg Brathwaite Alzarri Joseph
ODI Shai Hope
T20I Rovman Powell Vacant
Cricket Captain  Zimbabwe Test Craig Ervine
ODI Sean Williams
T20I Sikandar Raza

Associate Members

Nation Captain Vice-captain
Cricket Captain  Argentina Daniel Sutton
Cricket Captain  Austria Razmal Shigiwal
Cricket Captain  Bahamas Gregory Taylor
Cricket Captain  Bahrain Al Amin Shehzad
Cricket Captain  Belgium Shaheryar Butt Nemish Mehta
Cricket Captain  Belize Kenton Young
Cricket Captain  Bermuda Terryn Fray
Cricket Captain  Bhutan Jigme Singye
Cricket Captain  Botswana Karabo Modise
Cricket Captain  Brazil Rashid Bazigar
Cricket Captain  Bulgaria Prakash Mishra
Cricket Captain  Cameroon Solefack James
Cricket Captain  Canada Saad Bin Zafar
Cricket Captain  Cayman Islands Ronald Ebanks
Cricket Captain  Chile Kamlesh Gupta
Cricket Captain  China Jiang Shuyao
Cricket Captain  Costa Rica Christopher Prasad
Cricket Captain  Cyprus Michalis Kyriacou
Cricket Captain  Czech Republic Arun Ashokan
Cricket Captain  Denmark Hamid Shah
Cricket Captain  Estonia Marko Vaik
Cricket Captain  Eswatini Naeem Gull
Cricket Captain  Fiji Jone Seuvou
Cricket Captain  Finland Nathan Collins
Cricket Captain  France Arun Ayyavooraju
Cricket Captain  Germany Rishi Pillai
Cricket Captain  Ghana Obed Harvey
Cricket Captain  Gibraltar Balaji Pai
Cricket Captain  Greece Anastasios Manousis
Cricket Captain  Guernsey Jamie Nussbaumer
Cricket Captain  Hong Kong Nizakat Khan Kinchit Shah
Cricket Captain  Hungary Abhijeet Ahuja
Cricket Captain  Iran Dad Dahani
Cricket Captain  Isle of Man Matthew Ansell
Cricket Captain  Israel Herschel Gutman
Cricket Captain  Italy Gayashan Munasinghe
Cricket Captain  Japan Tatsuro Chino
Cricket Captain  Jersey Charles Perchard
Cricket Captain  Kenya Shem Ngoche
Cricket Captain  Kuwait Mohammad Amin
Cricket Captain  Lesotho Samir Patel
Cricket Captain  Luxembourg Joost Mees
Cricket Captain  Malawi Moazzam Baig
Cricket Captain  Malaysia Ahmed Faiz Virandeep Singh
Cricket Captain  Maldives Mohamed Mafooz
Cricket Captain  Malta Bikram Arora
Cricket Captain  Mexico Tarun Sharma
Cricket Captain  Mozambique Kaleem Shah
Cricket Captain  Namibia Gerhard Erasmus David Wiese
Cricket Captain    Nepal Rohit Paudel Vacant
Cricket Captain  Netherlands Scott Edwards Vacant
Cricket Captain  Nigeria Joshua Ayannaike Dotun Olatunji
Cricket Captain  Norway Raza Iqbal
Cricket Captain  Oman Zeeshan Maqsood
Cricket Captain  Panama Imran Bulbulia
Cricket Captain  Papua New Guinea Assad Vala
Cricket Captain  Peru Matthew Spry
Cricket Captain  Philippines Jonathan Hill
Cricket Captain  Portugal Najjam Shahzad
Cricket Captain  Qatar Iqbal Hussain Mohammed Rizlan
Cricket Captain  Romania Ramesh Satheesan
Cricket Captain  Rwanda Clinton Rubagumya
Cricket Captain  Samoa Dom Michael
Cricket Captain  Saudi Arabia Shoaib Ali
Cricket Captain  Scotland Richie Berrington Matthew Cross
Cricket Captain  Serbia Aleksa Djorovic
Cricket Captain  Seychelles Kaushalkumar Patel
Cricket Captain  Sierra Leone Lansana Lamin
Cricket Captain  Singapore Amjad Mahboob Aritra Dutta
Cricket Captain  South Korea Kyungsik Kim
Cricket Captain  Spain Christian Munoz-Mills
Cricket Captain  Suriname Shazam Ramjohn
Cricket Captain  Sweden Abhijit Venkatesh
Cricket Captain  Tanzania Hamisi Abdallah
Cricket Captain  Thailand Ryan Raina
Cricket Captain  Turkey Recep Ulutuna
Cricket Captain  Uganda Frank Nsubuga
Cricket Captain  United Arab Emirates Muhammad Waseem
Cricket Captain  United States Monank Patel Steven Taylor
Cricket Captain  Vanuatu Andrew Mansale

Current women's international captains

ICC Full Members

Nation Format Captain Vice-captain
Cricket Captain  Australia Test Alyssa Healy Tahlia McGrath
ODI
T20I
Cricket Captain  Bangladesh Test Nigar Sultana Nahida Akter
ODI
T20I
Cricket Captain  England Test Heather Knight Nat Sciver-Brunt
ODI
T20I
Cricket Captain  India Test Harmanpreet Kaur Smriti Mandhana
ODI
T20I
Cricket Captain  Ireland Test Laura Delany Gaby Lewis
ODI
T20I
Cricket Captain  New Zealand Test Sophie Devine Vacant
ODI
T20I
Cricket Captain  Pakistan Test Nida Dar Fatima Sana
ODI
T20I
Cricket Captain  South Africa Test Suné Luus Vacant
ODI
T20I
Cricket Captain  Sri Lanka Test Chamari Athapaththu Oshadi Ranasinghe
ODI
T20I
Cricket Captain  West Indies Test Hayley Matthews Shemaine Campbelle
ODI
T20I
Cricket Captain  Zimbabwe Test Mary-Anne Musonda Josephine Nkomo
ODI
T20I

Associate Members

Nation Captain Vice-captain
Cricket Captain  Botswana Laura Mophakedi
Cricket Captain  Brazil Roberta Moretti Avery
Cricket Captain  Chile Jeannette Gonzalez
Cricket Captain  China Huang Zhuo
Cricket Captain  France Marie Violleau
Cricket Captain  Germany Anuradha Doddaballapur Christina Gough
Cricket Captain  Hong Kong Kary Chan
Cricket Captain  Iran Nasimeh Rahshetaei
Cricket Captain  Jersey Rosa Hill
Cricket Captain  Kenya Queentor Abel Sharon Juma
Cricket Captain  Lesotho Boitumelo Phelenyane
Cricket Captain  Malawi Mary Mabvuka
Cricket Captain  Mexico Caroline Owen
Cricket Captain  Mozambique Fatima Guirrugo
Cricket Captain  Namibia Irene van Zyl Yasmeen Khan
Cricket Captain    Nepal Rubina Chhetri Indu Barma
Cricket Captain  Nigeria Samantha Agazuma
Cricket Captain  Papua New Guinea Kaia Arua
Cricket Captain  Rwanda Sarah Uwera
Cricket Captain  Western Samoa Regina Lili'i
Cricket Captain  Sierra Leone Linda Bull
Cricket Captain  Singapore Shafina Mahesh
Cricket Captain  South Korea Inyeong Oh
Cricket Captain  Spain Elspeth Fowler
Cricket Captain  Tanzania Fatuma Kibasu
Cricket Captain  Thailand Naruemol Chaiwai Nannapat Koncharoenkai
Cricket Captain  Uganda Rita Musamali
Cricket Captain  United Arab Emirates Chaya Mughal
Cricket Captain  United States Sindhu Sriharsha
Cricket Captain  Vanuatu Selina Solman

See also

References

Tags:

Cricket Captain Captains responsibilitiesCricket Captain Vice-captainCricket Captain Current mens international captainsCricket Captain Current womens international captainsCricket Captain

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