By Andrew Anthony/The Guardian
As all sporting literates are aware, there is no “i” in team. Almost all successful sports teams are founded on the principle of the collective being more important than any individual. Yes, there are debatable exceptions. If the 1986 Argentina football side wasn’t a one-man team, then let’s just say it would have been half as effective without Diego Maradona. But as a rule even the greatest talents have to fit their egos into a group ethic. And the paradox of the group ethic is that we like to see it embodied by one individual more than any other: the captain.
The role of the captain in pretty much all team sports, apart from cricket, is close to nominal. What authority does an armband really confer? What does a captain of, say, a rugby union or football team actually do?
England’s abysmal showing in the World Cup has put even more pressure on Peter Moores and his team to ensure a victorious tour of the Caribbean.
He gives interviews to the press, which, while necessary, is not a job that, as far as we know, has ever created a try or saved a goal. He leads the pre-match huddle: “Come on, lads, let’s try to win today!” Again, although deemed a vital piece of psychological theatre, has it ever made the difference between winning and losing?
An informal study I’ve conducted of Spurs captains suggests the greater the fist-clenching in a huddle, the more likely the concession of an early goal. Yet read the obituaries of Dave Mackay, a man who would no more have formed a huddle than take to the field in a tutu, and it’s clear he was a captain in every fibre of his compact frame. Was it because he was tough? George Best declared him the “hardest” and “bravest” opponent he’d ever encountered. Or was it because he was the most versatile individual in the team? Brian Clough rated him Tottenham’s greatest ever player.
Neither quality guarantees a great captain, but put them together with a selfless attitude and there is a good chance that an inspirational captain will emerge, someone who not only leads by example but motivates others to follow that lead.
Roy Keane would obviously also fall into that category. There is no time during a game to issue meaningful instructions, which is in any case the manager’s prerogative. But some players can, almost by sheer force of personality, impose themselves on the chaos in a manner that causes their team-mates to raise their own game.
Mackay, of course, was a Scotsman and Keane an Irishman. For some reason there isn’t an abundance of English players who have had a similar effect in football or, indeed, many other team sports. In football Steven Gerrard could certainly take command, but seldom in an England shirt. In rugby union Martin Johnson did rouse the troops for England but no one has looked like matching him since.
And in cricket? Well, in cricket a captain doesn’t have to take a game by the scruff of the neck – though it’s a handy talent to possess. He can, in theory, impose his tactical will through field placement and bowler selection. Mike Brearley is invariably cited as the master tactician and philosopher king in this department.
His cerebral, almost professorial, manner spoke of a certain kind of understated but determinedly effective Englishman, the sort of chap who, while filling out the Times crossword, might have been a quietly authoritative squadron leader in an earlier generation.
No England cricket captain has since recaptured Brearley’s laconic charm. David Gower perhaps came closest in style but he was too cavalier to be the team man that a captain needs primarily to be. He couldn’t help but give the impression, perhaps unfairly, that an elegant defeat was preferable to a gritty victory. In any event the winning ethic did not feature prominently in his side, at least not in terms of winning Test matches.
There have been swashbuckling mavericks – Ian Botham and Kevin Pietersen – but for all their prowess as players they were divisive figures as captains who couldn’t get past their own mythology.
The more reliable model followed by Nasser Hussain, Mike Atherton and, most successfully, Michael Vaughan is that of the doughty batsman-captain who will tough it out come what may. In an era that featured the likes of Steve Waugh, Ricky Ponting and Graeme Smith, opposing captains who appeared to relish conflict almost as much as winning, it was no time to appear less than committed.
England captain Alastair Cook has admitted that he does not know whether Jonathan Trott will cope with a return to Test cricket
And ultimately, even taking into account the importance of a good tactical nous, the real value of captaincy in all sports is appearance. To be a good captain it helps to look like a good captain. And perhaps this is an aspect of the game that Alastair Cook, through no fault of his own, may never find in his armoury.
No one should doubt his courage or talent, both of which he has in abundance. But it just so happens that he looks like the former choirboy that, by coincidence, he is. It’s a look that has many advantages, not least when it comes to photogenic appeal and sponsorship deals. However, it’s not a look that will ever strike fear in the opposition, much less his teammates. And unfortunately it’s the kind of look that fits too neatly with being sulky and needled, having succumbed, say, to Shane Warne’s provocations or losing the one-day England captaincy.
His replacement, Eoin Morgan, who happens to be Irish, never got going at the World Cup and England seemed as a consequence leaderless and lacking in conviction. By contrast, the stand-out captain of the tournament was the New Zealander Brendon McCullum, who like his compatriot, the All Blacks captain Richie McCaw, exudes confidence, camaraderie and resilience.
The island of four million people has a knack of unearthing such characters. Maybe it has something to do with being a settler nation, so far from anywhere else. Or maybe it’s down to the way that the combination of heart and humility is deliberately fostered in New Zealand culture.
Whatever the reason, if we’re to continue to make a big fuss about captaincy, we might want to ask why we struggle to find the right individuals, while in New Zealand they seem as bountiful as sheep.