beware... your captain and coach have more powers now...

shared by straight point on Monday, August 24, 2009

while the ashes was being played a very interesting development happened in cricket...

new zealand have formally given voting powers to captain daniel vettori and coach andy moles... in other words they have made both of them full time selectors and not only when they will be touring...

while some will say that it is the captain who ultimately has to lead the team in middle so he should be given the right to select personnel he thinks will be able to carry the responsibilities given to them by team management...

but it’s not as simple as that...

it’s not easy being a full time selector besides doing already time consuming job... captaining a team that is...

giving inputs on what kind of team one wants... giving suggestion or views on the inclusion of a player is one thing and preparing an arguable case in front of selection panel is another... specially when there’s lots of cricket happening making him travel almost throughout the season... with hardly enough breaks in between... when he will get the time and chance to ponder over a selection matter...?

today captain don’t have to merely lead the team in middle... think about stuff like preparing strategies... keeping a tab on where the team is going... think about the performances of himself as a player as well as other players being captain...

but besides that... there has been marked addition in captains off field activities... not only he has to attend day to day press conferences, pre or post series conferences... but have to tackle ever increasing media as well as fans scrutiny too...

captain will be left to answer the accusations that he selected or dropped certain player coz he likes or dislikes him... before an important series... the accusations will become even more severe after losing a series...

why subject him to such pitfalls…?

another fallout can be that captains can be drowned onto, knowingly or unknowingly, in forming a 'comfort zone' with certain set of players... he feels comfortable playing with...

there have been instances when a player though not totally agreeing with captain’s or coach’s view... still played coz he had it in him to make into the team... certain shane warne’s name pops us in mind promptly... if that will be the case now... will captain or coach be able to keep his emotions in check... with voting powers in his hand...?

needless to say the situation can easily lead to groupism in the team where the players who don’t bow to captain or coach whims and fancies can be shown the door...

why burden captain with unwanted... unnecessary powers or load... as you want to see it... when there is plenty on his plate... already...?

12 comments:

scorpicity said...

Bad move by NZ. By Separating these functions, you can bring in total accountability.

straight point said...

exactly scorpy...

let each person do the job he is assigned too...why overlap responsibility that will create or at least have the potential to crate more chaos than already there...

Krish said...

There is definitely more overhead, but if you are going to hold the captain accountable for winning and losing, then the captain must have a say in the team selection. If I was a captain, I would like to have a team that I feel comfortable with.

A good captain must be able to handle not only on-field matters, but off-field too. Obviously, you have to choose the right kind of captain.

Gaurav Sethi said...

SP, not such a big deal in nzl - what are they ten players to choose from?

Som said...

I think ti's a move in the right direction. Tell me how many selectors have lost their job because they erred and picked the wrong player?
My view is, since it's the captain and the coach who put their head on the chopping block, they should have the last say in selection of the playing XI. It's unfair to saddle them with players they don't want and sack them when they fail to perform.

straight point said...

"If I was a captain, I would like to have a team that I feel comfortable with."

that's where it can go wrong krish...it can easily lead to groupism...and then how many captains you can find within setup...unlike selectors...?

why empower them so much...when not many can handle power in right way...

straight point said...

oh nc! now i got it...to find eleventh player...? :)

straight point said...

som...

yes no many selectors have been sacked...but i have seen selectors quitting...

its like that when system realises a mistake is done by not holding selectors accountable...they are over correcting it and giving unreasonable power to captain...

as i said earlier... the overlapping of responsibilities and power has the potential of creating chaos...which can derail team even further...

in a practical scenerio i would like to see professional selectors with accountability rather than giving one hitleresque powers...

Vikas Yadav said...

Now I get to know that New Zealand is also sufferring from recession.They are burdening very less responsibility upon captain they should also make him physio,trainer and coach of the team.

straight point said...

hahaha...

recession angle is very nice one vikas... :)

Soulberry said...

A captain's role in selection should be limited to the playing 11. Of course his views must be considered seriously and weighed against the observations of the scouts/selectors who keep an eye on the domestic cricket.

That said, we must remember that NZ cricket has a very small pool of cricketers and there cannot be many secret performers left out for unknown reasons.

straight point said...

yes soulberry i don't have problems with coach and captain having a say in selection but arming them with voting powers as full time selectors...

though nz have less pool to look after imagine countries like india etc follow their formula blindly...

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