Cricket-Match-Special ... A forum for discussion

At the overall job, on and off the field.

Running operations on the pitch, including intensity and innovation.
Keeping a unified team off the field.
Inspirational qualities.
Results in relation to quality in the side.

Can't get Kumble, Dravid, Sammy, Shiv, Vettori, Strauss, Cook, Waqar, or... Freddie, KP or Afridi in due to lack of room.

Smith for me, can't really explain why

Boycott and Stewart very complimentary of Vaughan's captaincy, both in terms of onfield decisions and man management. MPV is my choice. He and Ganguly both pulled off incredible feats in beating the brilliant Australian team of the noughties. Which were triumphs of nerve as well as ability. It's a real education to listen to Vaughan commentate, his reading of the game is superb.

Where's Sammy?

In terms of number of wins, it's Punter, but if I were choosing a team of the decade, I'd probably hand the armband to Steve Waugh. He was uncompromising, knew exactly what he was about, and if you had to choose someone to bat for your life, you'd choose this bloke any day of the week and twice on Sunday.

why is kevin pietersen not on this list?

Maybe after he gets the captaincy back.

Smith.
longevity
taken them to no.1
has to deal with all the quota's and stuff that nobody else has to worry about
still has time to earn mega bucks for being injured for Surrey.

Who are all these clowns

Depends on what you're looking for.

Misbah the best man-manager.
Mccullum and Vaughan are probably the most shrewd tacticians I've seen.

On balance, I'll probably go for Smith or Ganguly.

I'm looking at the whole package.

For example, Clarke looks good on the field, but he is heading what has been a very divided team. Whereas Cook looks like a bit of a plodder on the field, but seems to have mended the dressing room. So they have excellent strengths, but important weaknesses. Whereas Ganguly and Vaughan did both parts, and had the status within the group of a leader. For me, Smith is a good choice, and should have extra points for doing the job for so long. But he is no Vaughan out in the middle. He does maybe have a bit of a Machiavellian streak, and has seen off a few England captains.

As Shanky pointed out, McCullum is a very good tactician and seems to be getting the best out of an average side.

Although he did get the job in strange circumstances, and hasn't been in the job long enough to be considered, if you ask again in 12-18 months, who knows ?

Yes McCullum is an attractive choice, which is why I put him in even though he's only new. Ten years ago Fleming was considered by lots of journos to be the best skipper, so maybe he'll pick up a vote. Smith is taking it at the moment.

saying that, if I had the best batsman in the world ( Amla ), the best bowler in the world ( Steyn ), possibly the best all-rounder ever ( Kallis ), not too mention the likes of AB,Morkel and Philander, I'd probably be a great captain too.

I agree, which fits in with him being predictable on the pitch. But he has to keep these players happy and motivated, and wanting to play for him.