Captain (cricket)

The captain of a cricket team, often referred to as the skipper,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> 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.

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.<ref name="Roles">Template:Cite web</ref>

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.<ref name="Roles"/> 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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

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).<ref name="Roles"/>

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".<ref name="Roles"/>

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.<ref name="Roles"/>

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.<ref name="Roles"/>

Batting order

Template:See also 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'.<ref name="Roles"/>

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.<ref name="Roles"/>

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.<ref name="Roles"/>

Follow-on

In a two-innings match, if the situation arises the captain decides whether to impose the follow-on.<ref name="Roles"/>

Appeals

Fielding captains may withdraw appeals with consent of the umpires.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> 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.)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

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.<ref name="Roles" />

Prior to July 2015, the captain was responsible for deciding when to take batting and bowling powerplays in limited overs matches.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Vice-captain

File:Pm cricket shots09 5995.jpg

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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Current men's international captains

ICC Full Members

Nation	Format	Captain	Vice-captain(s)
Template:Cr<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>	Test	Hashmatullah Shahidi	Rahmat Shah
	ODI
	T20I	Rashid Khan	Ibrahim Zadran
Template:Cr<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>	Test	Pat Cummins	Steve Smith / Travis Head
	ODI		Mitchell Marsh
	T20I	Mitchell Marsh	Travis Head
Template:Cr<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>	Test	Najmul Hossain Shanto	Mehidy Hasan Miraz
	ODI	Mehidy Hasan Miraz	Najmul Hossain Shanto
	T20I	Litton Das	Saif Hassan
Template:Cr<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>	Test	Ben Stokes	Harry Brook
	ODI	Harry Brook	Vacant
	T20I		Jacob Bethell
Template:Cr<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>	Test	Shubman Gill	Rishabh Pant
	ODI		Shreyas Iyer
	T20I	Suryakumar Yadav	Shubman Gill
Template:Cr<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>	Test	Andrew Balbirnie	Paul Stirling
	ODI	Paul Stirling	Vacant
	T20I		Lorcan Tucker
Template:Cr<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>	Test	Tom Latham	Mitchell Santner
	ODI	Mitchell Santner	Michael Bracewell
	T20I
Template:Cr<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>	Test	Shan Masood	Saud Shakeel
	ODI	Shaheen Afrdi	Salman Ali Agha
	T20I	Salman Ali Agha	Shadab Khan
Template:Cr<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>	Test	Temba Bavuma	Aiden Markram
	ODI
	T20I	Aiden Markram	David Miller
Template:Cr<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>	Test	Dhananjaya de Silva	Kusal Mendis
	ODI	Charith Asalanka
	T20I		Dasun Shanaka
Template:Cr<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>	Test	Roston Chase	Jomel Warrican
	ODI	Shai Hope	Vacant
	T20I
Template:Cr<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>	Test	Craig Ervine
	ODI
	T20I	Sikandar Raza

Associate Members

Nation	Captain	Vice-captain
Template:Cr	Pedro Baron	Hernán Fennell
Template:Cr	Aqib Iqbal
Template:Cr	Marc Taylor
Template:Cr	Ahmer Bin Nasir
Template:Cr	Ali Raza	Sheraz Sheikh
Template:Cr	Jermaine Pook
Template:Cr	Terryn Fray
Template:CR	Thinley Jamtsho
Template:Cr	Karabo Motlhanka
Template:Cr	Greigor Caisley	Yasar Haroon
Template:Cr	Prakash Mishra
Template:Cr	Faustin Mpegna
Template:Cr	Luqman Butt
Template:Cr	Nicholas Kirton
Template:Cr	Conroy Wright	Ramon Sealy
Template:Cr	Alexander Carthew
Template:Cr	Wei Guo Lei
Template:Cr	Christopher Prasad
Template:Cr	Scott Burdekin	Roshan Siriwardena
Template:Cr	Dylan Steyn
Template:Cr	Hamid Shah	Taranjit Bharaj
Template:Cr	Arslan Amjad
Template:Cr	Adil Butt	Mancoba Jele
Template:Cr	Peni Vuniwaqa
Template:Cr	Nathan Collins
Template:Cr	Gustav McKeon
Template:Cr	Venkatraman Ganesan
Template:Cr	Obed Harvey
Template:Cr	Avinash Pai	Iain Latin
Template:Cr	Aslam Mohammad
Template:Cr	Oliver Nightingale	Tom Nightingale
Template:Cr	Yasim Murtaza	Babar Hayat
Template:Cr	Ximus du Plooy
Template:Cr	Dad Dahani
Template:Cr	Oliver Webster
Template:Cr	Eshkol Solomon	Josh Evans
Template:Cr	Marcus Campopiano
Template:Cr	Dosso Issiaka
Template:Cr	Kendel Kadowaki-Fleming
Template:Cr	Charles Perchard
Template:Cr	Shem Ngoche	Lucas Oluoch
Template:Cr	Mohammad Aslam	Bilal Tahir
Template:Cr	Maaz Khan	Chachole Tlali
Template:Cr	Shiv Gill
Template:Cr	Moazzam Baig
Template:Cr	Yacouba Konate
Template:Cr	Syed Aziz	Virandeep Singh
Template:Cr	Azyan Farhath	Umar Adam
Template:Cr	Varun Thamotharam
Template:Cr	Shantanu Kaveri	Shashikant Laxman
Template:Cr	Filipe Cossa
Template:Cr	Gerhard Erasmus	JJ Smit
Template:Cr	Rohit Paudel	Dipendra Singh Airee
Template:Cr	Scott Edwards	Max O'Dowd
Template:Cr	Sylvester Okpe	Ademola Onikoyi
Template:Cr	Raza Iqbal
Template:Cr	Jatinder Singh	Vinayak Shukla
Template:Cr	Anilkumar Ahir	Yusuf Ebrahim
Template:Cr	Assad Vala	Charles Amini
Template:Cr	Matthew Spry
Template:Cr	Daniel Smith
Template:Cr	Najjam Shahzad
Template:Cr	Muhammad Tanveer	Mohammed Rizlan
Template:Cr	Vasu Saini	Shantanu Vashist
Template:Cr	Clinton Rubagumya
Template:Cr	Caleb Jasmat
Template:Cr	Hisham Shaikh
Template:Cr	Richie Berrington	Matthew Cross
Template:Cr	Mark Pavlovic
Template:Cr	Tim Horpinitch
Template:Cr	Lansana Lamin
Template:Cr	Manpreet Singh	Janak Prakash
Template:Cr	Jun Hyunwoo
Template:CR	Christian Munoz-Mills
Template:Cr	Arun Gokoel
Template:CR	Imal Zuwak
Template:Cr	Kassim Nassoro
Template:Cr	Austin Lazarus
Template:Cr	Gokhan Alta	Ali Turkmen
Template:Cr	Riazat Ali Shah
Template:Cr	Muhammad Waseem	Aayan Khan
Template:Cr	Monank Patel	Aaron Jones
Template:Cr	Joshua Rasu	Ronald Tari

Current women's international captains

ICC Full Members

Nation	Format	Captain	Vice-captain
Template:Crw	Test	Alyssa Healy	Tahlia McGrath
	ODI
	T20I
Template:Crw	Test	Nigar Sultana	Nahida Akter
	ODI
	T20I
Template:Crw	Test	Nat Sciver-Brunt	Charlie Dean
	ODI
	T20I
Template:Cr	Test	Harmanpreet Kaur	Smriti Mandhana
	ODI
	T20I
Template:Crw	Test	Laura Delany	Gaby Lewis
	ODI
	T20I
Template:Crw	Test	Sophie Devine	Amelia Kerr
	ODI
	T20I
Template:Crw	Test	Fatima Sana	Vacant
	ODI
	T20I
Template:Crw	Test	Laura Wolvaardt	Vacant
	ODI
	T20I
Template:Crw	Test	Chamari Athapaththu	Anushka Sanjeewani
	ODI
	T20I
Template:Crw	Test	Hayley Matthews	Shemaine Campbelle
	ODI
	T20I
Template:Crw	Test	Mary-Anne Musonda	Josephine Nkomo
	ODI
	T20I

Associate Members

Nation	Captain	Vice-captain
Template:Crw	Laura Mophakedi
Template:Crw	Roberta Moretti Avery
Template:Crw	Jeannette Gonzalez
Template:Crw	Huang Zhuo
Template:Crw	Marie Violleau
Template:Crw	Anuradha Doddaballapur	Christina Gough
Template:Crw	Kary Chan
Template:Crw	Nasimeh Rahshetaei
Template:Crw	Rosa Hill
Template:Crw	Queentor Abel	Sharon Juma
Template:Crw	Boitumelo Phelenyane
Template:Crw	Mary Mabvuka
Template:Crw	Caroline Owen
Template:Crw	Fatima Guirrugo
Template:Crw	Irene van Zyl	Yasmeen Khan
Template:Crw	Indu Barma	Puja Mahato
Template:Crw	Samantha Agazuma
Template:Crw	Kaia Arua
Template:Crw	Sarah Uwera
Template:Crw	Regina Lili'i
Template:Crw	Linda Bull
Template:Crw	Shafina Mahesh
Template:Crw	Inyeong Oh
Template:Crw	Elspeth Fowler
Template:Crw	Fatuma Kibasu
Template:Crw	Naruemol Chaiwai	Nannapat Koncharoenkai
Template:Crw	Rita Musamali
Template:Crw	Chaya Mughal
Template:Crw	Sindhu Sriharsha
Template:Crw	Selina Solman

See also

• The Art of Captaincy, a 1985 book by former England captain Mike Brearley