1. 11.2.2016 More responsibility than power | Cricket articles, news, cartoons, statistics | Holdingwilley
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11-Feb-2016 ( 73 views )
Contributed by Venkatesh Govindarajan
More responsibility than power
Not taught in schools
At Harvard, you are taught how to manage a
company’s affairs, but nowhere does
anybody get groomed to lead, and lead well.
Leaders, by and large, are products of
circumstance. They are thrown up by
adversities; people who inspire and do not
command, people who guide and do not
instruct, people who are friends and not
bosses. They are people who put others’
interests above themselves.
Leaders are ordinary mortals who admit their own foibles, while trying to help their teammates
develop their strengths. They may not be among the top five of their group, but they mould and
encourage the existing talent in the group and help youngsters hone their skills, as much for their
individual good as for the benefit of the team.
Leaders are present in every walk of life. One person takes the initiative and like-minded
individuals team up with him and then begins a focused endeavour towards achieving something.
More often than not, such initiatives are nipped in the bud, when the leader assumes total control
and makes the volunteers believe that he is the boss and they his henchmen. Herein, he commits
the biggest blunder.
Leadership is not about exploiting the abilities and the interests of people. It calls for developing
the skills and keeping the flame of passion for the cause burning alive, even in the wake of
debilitating obstacles and numbing teething troubles. By leaders, we refer to those who win the
respect and admiration of people and not whip-in-the-hand disciplinarians who instil fear.
When we talk of leaders in cricket, we are talking of captains. As the wise Mike Brearley (who led
England in the late 1970s) feels, cricket captaincy has been very much under-rated. He regretted
that measurables had become the instruments of valuation of a captain. He gave the example of
the badly out-of-form Nasser Hussain, whose place in the English side was at stake. However, as
captain from 1999, Nasser Hussain was responsible for lifting the sagging morale of the team. This
gives the boot to the belief that the captain has to have an impressive batting or bowling record
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About the author
G Venkatesh (born 1972) is a
senior lecturer in Energy
and Environment, at
Karlstad University in S...
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2. 11.2.2016 More responsibility than power | Cricket articles, news, cartoons, statistics | Holdingwilley
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to be able to lead well.
Comprehending strengths
Correcting weaknesses is an arduous task, as time-consuming as it is demanding. So when time is
a factor and quick results matter, working on your strengths is a wiser option. Ideally, of course,
this should be done in the long-term interest of the player, rather than for immediate benefits
associated with a game / tournament.
While nosey captains are disliked, players will always welcome suggestions from the skipper.
Note: ‘suggestions’ and not ‘advice’. The tone of the skipper should not be condescending. He is
talking to a teammate, an equal, and doing his duty – nothing more, nothing less.
You are the captain because the selectors found certain leadership qualities in you, not because
you are a better player than the other ten in the side. A captain is not necessarily the best
batsman or the best bowler in the side. But he definitely knows who is, and how to get the best
out of each player, while helping him improve with time.
Roy Gilchrist’s potential was realised by Frank Worrell (captain of the West Indies team in the
1960s), who would dissuade him from being aggressive with his bouncers and beamers. Gilchrist
heeded his advice, as Worrell was kind and spoke from the heart – with earnestness.
When Gerry Alexander, who succeeded Worrell as captain, was abrasive with Gilchrist, the fast
bowler would vent his anger by hurling beamers at the batsmen. Consequently, his career was
aborted prematurely. In retrospect, if Worrell had not retired in 1960, Gilchrist might have had a
longer career and his potential could have been properly explored.
Putting team before self
Mark Taylor earned the respect of the entire cricketing fraternity as a captain when he sacrificed a
personal milestone for the Aussie team’s victory. While on the verge of surpassing Don Bradman’s
record for the highest individual score by an Australian in an innings in Test Cricket (334), he
declared the innings. Taylor equalled the score, undefeated (it has since been surpassed). He later
said this was largely as a mark of respect to the Don, though one could suppose that he was more
keen on giving his bowlers enough time to bowl out the opposition – a ‘mark’ of a true captain.
Captains have run themselves out when a sacrifice was unavoidable, on realising that the wicket
of the better-set batsman at the other end was more precious for the team. They have played
sheet anchor to younger players who found their rhythm and got into the leather-hunt. They have
brought themselves on to bowl in challenging situations, taken a bit of stick, while allowing the
better bowlers to rest and return refreshed after some time. They have also kept themselves out
of the attack after a short spell, in order to enable upcoming young bowlers to get more exposure
to big-match conditions, while also ensuring that the match never went out of their grasp.
If you are representing your college, club or country, count yourself among the lucky few. If you
are the leader of these representatives, it is a great honour indeed.
Building morale
This is much more important than you think. When the heat of the moment has everyone
concentrating hard and anxious about the outcome, it is the captain’s words that make all the
difference. Tension is infectious; it breeds negative thoughts. When the upshot turns out to be
better than what was visualised, you are left feeling that you could have done even better if you
had set out with a positive outlook.
Egging the players on during the team get-togethers at lunch or dinner is much more than mere
management ‘pep-talk.’ In fact, there should be more heart and soul behind this ‘pep.’ Defending
your teammates at press interviews and volunteering to be the scapegoat can get you not just
respect, but more success in the matches to follow.
The great Muttiah Muralitharan, for one, will be grateful to his former captain Arjuna Ranatunga
for so many things. Ranatunga is history now, but his keen perception enabled him to envision a
great future for Murali (who retired recently as the highest wicket-taker in Test Cricket) and
thereby for the Lankan side. His diatribe against Darryl Hair’s umpiring in Australia in defence of
Murali is still clear in every cricket-lover’s memory.
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Rivalry within the team
This sometimes clouds a captain’s vision. It is a general human failing – a spanner in the works. A
captain should also be able to groom a successor, just as a manager trains his deputy to take over
the reins, sooner or later. Leadership involves handling your anxieties as well as those of your
teammates. This is easier said than done, as the captain can come in for a lot of flak when his
own performance deteriorates, and oftentimes, there could be a tendency to ‘feather your own
nest’ before helping your teammates.
On the field
Anger is man’s worst enemy. This is especially true for a leader. On the field, it is quite human to
vent your spleen on people when things are going badly. Your maturity and adeptness at handling
pressure-cooker situations are put to test here. A harsh word may spoil the wonderful momentum
fashioned by all the hard work that preceded it, like a friendship of several years being broken in a
moment.
A never-say-die, iceberg-cool, positive-minded leader can inspire his teammates till the very end.
Steve Waugh, battling it out at Number 6 when the chips were down, infused in a Damien Fleming
or a Glenn McGrath the vigour to stick at the wicket and help him steer the team clear of trouble.
Planning
While preliminary planning is essential, as you might have observed Douglas Jardine do in the
televised serial “Bodyline”, the captain should have an open mind and be quick at “IF-THEN
analysis” type of decision making. While experimenting, however, the captain should not lose
sight of the bigger picture. Premeditated planning is good, but it is the extemporaneous decisions
which are more effective. Remember Kapil Dev bringing on Azharuddin for a brief spell of gentle
medium pace against the Aussies at the 1987 World Cup. That move turned the match in India’s
favour, earning Azhar the Man-of-the-Match award.
Ideal leader
An ideal leader, to quote the Greek philosopher Xenophon, should be a combination of passion and
detachment, vision and common sense, energetic, full of stamina, ingenious, careful,
straightforward and crafty, loving and tough, generous and greedy, trusting and suspicious,
wishing for all and ready to sacrifice everything.
Confusing? Well, different circumstances demand different approaches. It’s actually as simple as
that.
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1 Comment Sort by
Jawahar Nidamboor · Singer­songwriter at Singer/Artist
Very well written article.
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