Monday, August 4, 2008

England captain?

Who should be the England cricket captain now that MP Vaughan has finally stepped down? Obviously the answer is myself but that's probably too left-field a selection. KP Nuts is the pick of many a pundit and it could likely be him but i'd rather the captaincy went to someone with a bit of experience in the job. I'd like to see Robert Key given the gig, though of course there is a problem with him not being a current test team player. However the last time he was in the side he did score a double century at Lord's in front of the Queen so he isn't that bad a player.

A problem with central contracts is that players often do not get to play for their counties anymore and hence do not get much captaincy experience. Of course some players can respond to the challenge, for Warwickshire i always thought Ian Westwood was a fringe player and maybe would never make it but he was made captain after injury to Darren Maddy and responded brilliantly, not only did the team start winning but his own batting form really responded well.

But then again there are cases like Iron Bottom and Flintoff who's performances have suffered when given the added burden of captaincy. Both were top class all-rounders though so perhaps the fact they never could relax was the problem. Anyway we'll find out later...

Update : well it was KP anyway. What a surprise!

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