India, England have more leaders than Australia
ing increasingly difficult for Australian selectors to assess captaincy potential as the international cricketers play less and less first-class cricket. This results in them having fewer opportunities to hone their captaincy skills at first-class level.
It sounds obvious but the first thing a captain must do when he’s appointed, is to lead. This is one way to earn the respect of fellow players.
The other aspect of the job a captain has to quickly grasp is that all wins [W’s] and all losses [L’s] go against his name. Once a captain understands that concept he’s more likely to stamp his authority and improve his chances of success.
One thing a selection panel must try and avoid in choosing a new captain is appointing someone who might be weighed down by the extra responsibility. A good example is Alastair Cook who wasn’t a natural leader and appeared to find the task onerous, having earned the job purely on the basis of his long tenure in the team.
It’s perhaps instructive that ULAANBAATAR: India and England have more players with captaincy potential than Australia. India have Rahane as a ready-made replacement and England have Test vicecaptain Ben Stokes whilst Jos Buttler was comfortable when acting as a last-minute stand-in for Eoin Morgan at Trent Bridge.
Whereas Australia’s International players have few opportunities to hone captaincy skills at first-class level, India have an advantage.
The IPL provides additional opportunities for players to enhance their captaincy credentials in a high-pressure atmosphere since the tournament has a designated window.
With both Smith and David Warner out of the running, Paine was the obvious choice as Australian captain, having previously performed the task at lower levels.
Australia’s problem could be dire if Paine can’t hold his place in the ODI side and they have to unearth another captain. At least any successor will have the comfort of knowing Australia’s results can’t get any worse.