How important is the role of captain at grassroots level and what are the ideal traits for a leader of an amateur cricket team? Club skipper Rich Evans took note in issue 9 of Wisden Cricket Monthly.
This article first featured in issue 9 of Wisden Cricket Monthly.
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“One word sums up a successful cricket captain: versatile,” wrote former England and Yorkshire skipper Ray Illingworth in his book Captaincy, published in 1980. “He needs the patience of a saint, the diplomacy of an ambassador, the compassion of a social worker, and the skin of a rhino.” A club skipper, no stranger to dubious umpires, prima donnas, over-protective parents, selection headaches and club politics, can require even greater levels of adaptability.
It can be a tough gig – one that asks you to balance the unbalanceable, juggling conflicting interests and fragile egos. Your tactics and selections may be called into question, your future in the role thrown into doubt – assuming someone is prepared to step up and replace you, that is.
But beyond the squabbles and cry-offs, it can be highly rewarding. Positive results of course promote a strong team spirit, but a captain also plays a key role in creating that environment.
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Martin says the worst part of captaincy is “dropping guys that don’t deserve to be dropped”. He adds: “I dread those conversations. I had a situation last year when Harry Podmore [the former Middlesex seamer, now playing for Kent] made himself available on a Friday night. Obviously, I have to pick him, but I had to drop a lad who got a three-for the week before. Trying to justify selection decisions to players is hard.”
Brown offers some guidance: “Say it how it is, don’t bullshit them, and support it with facts and stats. If they still don’t like it, they may not be the right character for the club anyway.”
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To truly conquer club captaincy, it’s clear that not only do you need a firm grasp of the game, you need a “degree in people”, to quote Ian Botham of former England skipper Mike Brearley. I’ve been a senior skipper for a decade, and still have heaps to learn. When you list the functions of a captain, ‘orchestrator of fun’ is not one that readily springs to mind. But Martin’s ambitious Ealing CC won the Middlesex Premier Division with a league-record points tally last season, claimed seven successive titles between 2005 and 2011, have county players among their membership, are at the elite end of the grassroots pyramid, and still place enjoyment at the heart of their strategy. If it works for them, then surely it can work for clubs further down the chain?
It’s sometimes easy to lose sight of the fact that as a club cricket captain you’re fronting a leisure pursuit, an activity to be enjoyed. Skippers must strike a balance between striving to win and endeavouring to entertain and unite. Granted, team functions differ as you move through the grassroots pyramid, and no one turns up to lose, but enjoyment remains the chief reason why we play, at any level. Yet that notion is often challenged by a win-at-all-cost mentality in league cricket, daft rules, internal politics or self-serving motives. Many believe the future of club cricket as we know it to be under threat, but we can’t solely blame outside influences. One thing is certain: we have never needed our leaders more.
READ THE PREVIOUS CLUB DEBATE:
https://www.wisden.com/stories/your-game/club-cricket/club-debate-teenage-drop-off-club-cricket
https://www.wisden.com/stories/your-game/club-cricket/club-debate-letters-club-crickets-teenage-drop-off
Read more club cricket stories in our Your Game section.
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