Who is the best Test cricket captain of them all?

Nowadays, with a solid support staff, the captain’s decision-making responsibilities are less of a burden. This allows him to fully concentrate on his skills.

Graeme Smith won 53 out of 109 Tests as captain of South Africa.

 

The captain of a cricket team, at times also referred to as the skipper, is the appointed leader, having several additional roles and responsibilities over and above those of the 10 others in the playing XI. In cricket, the main role of the captain is to act as a sort of intermediary between the coaching staff and the rest of the team. He becomes part player, part selector or even part coach/mentor, and must be able to successfully balance the various pressures that come with the multiple responsibilities.

As in any other sport, the captain is usually the person who is the most experienced in the squad. However, there have been several instances in Test cricket where the captain has been the least experienced member of the squad.

The captain also needs to have good communication skills and is most likely to be a certainty in the playing XI, as he is responsible for the team selection. It is his task to go out for the toss before the start of a match and then take a call as to whether his side bats or fields first. During the match, the captain decides the team’s batting order, which bowler will open the bowling, who are his first and second bowling changes, and where each fielder will be positioned. While the captain has the final say, decisions taken on the field or in the dressing rooms 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. Excelling as a cricket captain requires the incumbent to have a thorough understanding of how the game is played, the ability to strategise, and at the same time lead his teammates both on and off the field.

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Nowadays, with the coaching and support staff as part of the squad, the captain’s decision-making responsibilities are less of a burden. This allows him to fully concentrate on his skills, which are either batting or bowling and at times both. However, despite all that, the captain of a cricket team typically shoulders more responsibility for results than team captains in other sports.

Here’s the first part of a statistical review of the captains in Test cricket since 1877.

First captain for each Test side

Team	Captain	Opponent	Venue	Date	Result
Australia	Dave Gregory	England	Melbourne	March 15, 1877	Won by 45 runs
England	James Lillywhite	Australia	Melbourne	March 15, 1877	Lost by 45 runs
South Africa	Owen Dunell	England	Port Elizabeth	March 12, 1889	Lost by 8 wickets
West Indies	Karl Nunes	England	Lord’s	June 23, 1928	Lost by an innings and 58 runs
New Zealand	Tom Lowry	England	Christchurch	January 10, 1930	Lost by 8 wickets
India	C. K. Nayudu	England	Lord’s	June 25, 1932	Lost by 158 runs
Pakistan	Abdul Hafeez Kardar	India	Delhi	October 16, 1952	Lost by an innings and 70 runs
Sri Lanka	Bandula Warnapura	England	Colombo (Premadasa)	February 17, 1982	Lost by 7 wickets
Zimbabwe	Dave Houghton	India	Harare	November 18, 1992	Drawn
Bangladesh	Naimur Rahman	India	Dhaka	November 10, 2000	Lost by 9 wickets
ICC World XI	Graeme Smith	Australia	Sydney	October 14, 2005	Lost by 210 runs
Ireland	William Porterfield	Pakistan	Dublin	May 12, 2018	Lost by 5 wickets
Afghanistan	Asghar Afghan	India	Bangalore	June 14, 2018	Lost by an innings and 262 runs

Notes:

1) Dave Gregory of Australia is the first captain to win a toss.

2) Owen Dunnell of South Africa and Asghar Afghan of Afghanistan lost their respective Test matches in two days!

3) Ireland’s opening day in Test cricket (May 11, 2018) was washed out because of rain. Play began the next day.

Most Tests as captain

Tests	Captain	Team	Period
109	Graeme Smith	South Africa	April 24, 2003-March 5, 2014
93	Allan Border	Australia	December 7, 1984-March 29, 1994
80	Stephen Fleming	New Zealand	February 14, 1997-December 18, 2006
77	Ricky Ponting	Australia	March 8, 2004-December 29, 2010
74	Clive Lloyd	West Indies	November 22, 1974-January 2, 1985

+ Smith's tally includes one Test for the ICC World XI.

Most Tests as captain for other sides

Team	Tests a captain	Captain	Period
India	60	M. S. Dhoni	April 11, 2008-December 30, 2014
England	59	Alastair Cook	March 12, 2010-December 20, 2016
Sri Lanka	56	Arjuna Ranatunga	December 8, 1989-February 28, 1999
Pakistan	56	Misbah-ul-Haq	November 12, 2010-May 14, 2017
Bangladesh	34	Mushfiqur Rahim	October 21, 2011-October 8, 2017
Zimbabwe	21	Alastair Campbell	September 11, 1996-November 19, 2002
Zimbabwe	21	Heath Streak	September 12, 2000-March 1, 2004
Ireland	3	William Porterfield	May 12, 2018-July 27, 2019
Afghanistan	2	Asghar Afghan	June 14, 2018-March 18, 2019
Afghanistan	2	Rashid Khan	September 5, 2019-November 29, 2019

Most Test wins as captain

Wins	Captain	Tests as captain	Team	Period
53	Graeme Smith	109	South Africa	April 24, 2003-March 5, 2014
48	Ricky Ponting	77	Australia	March 8, 2004-December 29, 2010
41	Steve Waugh	57	Australia	March 5, 1999-January 6, 2004
36	Clive Lloyd	74	West Indies	November 22, 1974-January 2, 1985
33	Virat Kohli	55	India	December 9, 2014-March 2, 2020
32	Allan Border	93	Australia	December 7, 1984-March 29, 1994

Under Virat Kohli's leadership, India has won 33 out of 55 Tests.

 

Most Test defeats as captain

Losses	Captain	Tests as captain	Team	Period
29	Graeme Smith	109	South Africa	April 24, 2003-March 5, 2014
27	Stephen Fleming	80	New Zealand	February 14, 1997-December 18, 2006
26	Brian Lara	47	West Indies	March 27, 1997-December 1, 2006
22	Allan Border	93	Australia	December 7, 1984-March 29, 1994
22	Alastair Cook	59	England	March 12, 2010-December 20, 2016
21	Michael Atherton	54	England	August 5, 1993-August 4, 2001

Most Tests drawn as captain

Draws	Captain	Tests as captain	Team	Period
38	Allan Border	93	Australia	December 7, 1984-March 29, 1994
30	Sunil Gavaskar	47	India	January 24, 1976-February 5, 1985
27	Graeme Smith	109	South Africa	April 24, 2003-March 5, 2014
26	Clive Lloyd	74	West Indies	November 22, 1974-January 2, 1985
26	Imran Khan	48	Pakistan	July 29, 1982-January 7-1992
25	Arjuna Ranatunga	56	Sri Lanka	December 8, 1989-February 28, 1999
25	Stephen Fleming	80	New Zealand	February 14, 1997-December 18, 2006

Note: The four captains involved in a tied Test match are Richie Benaud (Australia) and Frank Worrell (West Indies) 1960, Kapil Dev (India) and Allan Border (Australia) in 1986.

Most successful Test captains (minimum 25 Tests as captain)

Win percentage	Wins	Captain	Tests as captain	Team	Period
71.93	41	Steve Waugh	57	Australia	March 5, 1999-January 6, 2004
62.34	48	Ricky Ponting	77	Australia	March 8, 2004-December 29, 2010
60.00	33	Virat Kohli	55	India	December 9, 2014-March 2, 2020
58.06	18	Mike Brearley	31	England	June 16, 1977-September 1, 1981
56.25	18	Kane Williamson	32	New Zealand	July 28, 2016-March 2, 2020
54.00	27	Viv Richards	50	West Indies	August 7, 1980-August 12, 1991

Least successful Test captains (minimum 25 Tests as captain)

Win percentage	Wins	Captain	Tests as captain	Team	Period
8.82	3	John Reid	34	New Zealand	February 18, 1956-July 13, 1965
11.76	4	Kapil Dev	34	India	February 23, 1983-March 17, 1987
14.29	4	Kim Hughes	28	Australia	March 24, 1979-November 26, 1984
15.63	5	David Gower	32	England	August 12, 1982-August 29, 1989
16.00	4	Sachin Tendulkar	25	India	October 10, 1996-March 6, 2000
18.75	6	Daniel Vettori	32	New Zealand	November 8, 2007-January 29, 2011

 

To be continued……