Sunday Times
TELFORD VICE, Johannesburg
The last time South Africans had to think about who would captain their test team, Claude Henderson’s brother, James, was the leading runscorer in a domestic first-class competition that featured 11 teams, and the idea of cricketers being auctioned for millions to play for fake teams owned by movie stars and business tycoons in a cartoon competition was ridiculous.
It still is, but even the Indian Premier League is more believable than the fact that Graeme Smith is no longer SA’s test captain.
Cricket is vastly changed from what it was when Smith was appointed on March 16, 2003. But the show goes on, and a different voice will call heads or tails when the coin is spun in Galle on July 16 to start SA’s series in Sri Lanka.
Whose voice? We will know on Tuesday. AB de Villiers, Hashim Amla and Faf du Plessis are, unofficially, the candidates. Du Plessis is likely the best captain among them, but he is least likely to get the job given his competitors. De Villiers has proven himself in the shorter formats and would be the favourite, but Amla’s appointment would acknowledge his stature as a peerless player and reach beyond cricket’s boundaries.
This is a puzzle of personalities as much as it is a cricket conundrum. De Villiers thinks fast, acts faster and does not stop to think how fast he has acted before launching another mission impossible. If discipline and decency walked and talked, they would be Amla. Du Plessis has the priceless gift of thinking and acting dispassionately even in the hottest kitchen.
“A captain in a cricket test is more important than a soccer or a rugby captain,” former SA captain Ali Bacher said. “A captain can win a test and he can lose a test. I don’t think a soccer captain can lose a game with a decision he makes on the field.”
The candidates:
Hashim Amla - Captain Quiet
Matches as captain (across all formats and at all levels other than school): 35 (W-12, L18). Matches played overall: 442.
Runs scored as captain: 1254. Runs scored overall: 23407.
Average as captain: 33.89. Average overall: 46.16.
Strengths: No-one in world cricket commands more respect than Amla. He has earned it the bulletproof way by performing when it matters. His accommodating personality would make players want to play for him. Conversely, he would be unlikely to fall victim to arrogance or to provoke division in the dressingroom.
Weaknesses: Off the field is where Amla’s major challenges would lurk. He has never looked comfortable in the glare of the media spotlight and sometimes comes across as reluctant to disclose anything beyond the most banal details of his performances. Amla has shown immense patience at the crease. He would have to do the same to survive the maelstrom of marketing that comes with the territory of captaining a test team.
Former Dolphins coach Phil Russell: “He’s big on the team, and on everyone in the team supporting each other. He won’t stand any nonsense if they don’t. He is also good at analysis. A captain has more responsibilities off the field than on it, and all captains need coaches and managers to take the pressure off them and allow them to spend more time on doing their primary job. That goes for Hashim as well.”
AB de Villiers - Captain Fantastic
Matches as captain (across all formats and at all levels other than school): 60 (W-32, L23). Matches played overall: 535.
Runs scored as captain: 2296. Runs scored overall: 23255.
Average as captain: 51.02. Average overall: 45.59.
Strengths: De Villiers has the rare talent to be on the same level as his teammates as a bloke even as he soars above them as a player. The most audaciously gifted batsman in the game, his example is impossible to match - but his players would give their all in trying to do so. He has shown the ability to learn quickly as SA’s one-day captain, and his commitment to making a success of the test captaincy would be beyond question.
Weaknesses: De Villiers has betrayed a tendency to take on too much for his own good, which was acknowledged when the T20 captaincy was given to Faf du Plessis. Making De Villiers captain would likely mean SA will have to find a new wicketkeeper for the test XI.
Former SA batsman Neil McKenzie: “He leads from the front so he has the changeroom on his side already - that’s a big part of the job. He’s played with a quality captain in Graeme Smith so he knows what it’s all about. He’s a world class player which means you’re not going to have to drop him if he goes through a slump. And he’s only 30.”
Faf du Plessis - Captain Courageous
Matches as captain (across all formats and at all levels other than school): 37 (W-21, L14). Matches played overall: 518.
Runs scored as captain: 1413. Runs scored overall: 18871.
Average as captain: 44.15. Average overall: 39.81.
Strengths: Du Plessis has captained teams since boyhood, which shows in his calm, calculated approach. He has a knack for timely bowling changes and his field placings are informed by canny reading of opponents. He is less emphatically talented than Amla or De Villiers but he does not lack determination and drive. Unlike De Villiers and Amla, he is not a giant of the game and the more human scale of his outlook would help him get the best out of his players. SA depend less on Du Plessis as a batsman compared to De Villiers and Amla, which should ease the pressure on him to perform.
Weaknesses: Anyone who follows Jacques Kallis into the No. 4 spot would struggle to step out of Kallis’ shadow, and although Du Plessis has no obvious rivals he has yet to nail down the position.
Titans coach Rob Walter: “He’s young in his captaincy, but the standout aspect is that he wants leadership. He’s not reluctant, and he’s a natural in his ability to inspire people and pull them in. Recently, he has started to lead by example. There are various kinds of leadership and Faf seems to cover them all.”
* Statistics source: www.cricketarchive.com
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