Sportskeeda Cricket Awards 2014: Captain of the Year

"A leader is one who knows the way, goes the way, and shows the way."

The above quote by motivational speaker John C. Maxwell aptly summarizes the role of a captain on a cricket field. Unlike a few other sports, a captain is entrusted with too many responsibilities in the game of cricket. Right from getting the team combination right to outmanoeuvring an opposition on the field, the captain has a say in most of the aspects of the game. If he gets it right, he is lauded as a genius. However, if he gets it wrong, the fans waste no time in launching the most scathing attacks on him and branding him as a villain.

With the huge amount of cricket played these days, the role of a captain has become all the more important. He along with his backroom staff has got to constantly analyse and strategise for the myriad number of opponents that the team has to take on. In order to reduce the burden on the shoulders of captains, many teams, except for India and New Zealand, have adopted a split captaincy approach, wherein they have a different captain for different formats.

With so many leaders in the fray, it is difficult to come up with the one who has excelled throughout the year. However, looking at certain factors such as their performance in foreign conditions, performance as an individual, and how he boosted the team morale when it was most needed, we have arrived at a conclusion.

Before we move on to the winner, let’s take a look at a couple of others whose able leadership in 2014 needs to be recognised:

Michael Clarke

There is not a semblance of a doubt that this man from New South Wales is a born leader. His body language while leading the team and his positive and refreshing approach to captaincy speak volumes about how good a leader he is. Moreover, he absolutely enjoys captaincy, which is indicated by the improvement in his batting form ever since becoming the captain.

Pup, as he is fondly referred to, had a great start to 2014 as his team inflicted a 5-0 whitewash on England and regained the coveted Ashes. His captaincy in the ODI series that followed was pretty good, as well, as the Aussies thrashed England 4-1. What was really noticeable was that the Aussies were absolutely ruthless with Clarke at helm.

Clarke effectively led the Aussies to a 5-0 rout of England

Just a month after the high of regaining the Ashes, the men from Down Under embarked on a tour of South Africa, a real challenging one given the strength of the Proteas, especially in their own backyard. However, once again the 33-year-old’s brilliant leadership came to the fore as the Kangaroos beat the Proteas 2-1 in a fiercely contested Test series. He did not have a very good outing in the first couple of Tests. However, in the 3rd Test, which was the decider, he scored a brilliant 161* when it mattered the most.

The highlight of the year, however, was Clarke’s handling of the entire situation after Phillip Hughes’s untimely demise. There have been several occasions when the Aussie skipper has efficiently led his team on the field. On this instance, however, he showed that he is an equally effective leader off the field, as well. Right from the time that Hughes was rushed to the hospital after that tragic incident, Clarke, a very good buddy of Hughes, was with his family. In fact, it was Clarke who read out the family’s statement after Hughes passed away.

After all those that transpired off the field following this tragic incident, it would have obviously been very difficult for the Australian players to step onto the field with the same focus as before. And, yet again, it was Pup who was back to his very best as a leader. The way he rallied his troops around him was admirable. It looked as if the Aussies were playing for just the one purpose: to pay tribute to their deceased teammate.

What was really admirable was that in spite of suffering a back injury, Clarke continued batting and went on to score a century. It looked as if Clarke and the entire team had put all those events of the past week behind them and were looking to merely concentrate on cricket. For his efficient handling of such a situation, Clarke deserves a lot of praise.

Brendon McCullum

When Brendon McCullum was appointed as the captain of the Black Caps in place of Ross Taylor, there was a huge uproar in New Zealand cricket. There was a mini-revolt of sorts, and it looked as if things had gone bad for the Kiwis.

However, the way McCullum has conducted himself over the past couple of years and the way he has slowly transformed the New Zealand team from a promising team to a team that fulfills its promise, it appears that the administrators of New Zealand cricket have, indeed, made the right call.

2014 was a very good year for New Zealand cricket, and a lot of credit for it goes to McCullum. Besides performing well as the captain, Baz, as he is nicknamed, has also done his bit with the bat. In Tests, he finished sixth on the list of highest run-scorers in 2014 with his record reading 969 runs at a stellar average of 64.60, which included 3 hundreds and a top score of 302, the first triple century by a Kiwi batsman.

Coming against India, that 302 was a very special knock, indeed. Having conceded a lead of 246 in the first innings, New Zealand were well and truly staring down the barrel. However, contrary to his style of play, the 33-year old grinded it out in the middle and miraculously saved the game for New Zealand.

McCullum became the first Kiwi batsman to register a triple ton

McCullum’s captaincy really needs to be appreciated, in particular, for the overseas victories that he has led his team to. Over the years, New Zealand has always been the kind of team that brings the opposition to its knees at home, but they have consistently struggled when it comes to the overseas games.

In 2014, however, the Black Caps managed to win a Test series in the Carribean Islands after 12 long years and even managed to win a Test in the United Arab Emirates, in the kind of conditions that they are not really accustomed to. And yet again in that victory against Pakistan, it was Baz who put his hand up and led his team by example.

What was really admirable, though, was that none of the Kiwi players including McCullum celebrated their personal achievements in the wake of Hughes' sad demise.

Considering all the above factors, McCullum finishes a close second for the honour of Captain of the Year 2014.

Captain of the year 2014: Angelo Mathews

“A leader is best when people barely know he exists, when his work is done, his aim fulfilled, they will say: we did it ourselves.”

The above quote from Lao Tzu, a Chinese philosopher, provides a perfect description of the Angelo Mathews’ style of leadership: calm and composed yet very calculated. If there is someone who had a lion’s share in all the success that Sri Lanka achieved in 2014, it is, without a shred of a doubt, Angelo Mathews: if there was a need to score runs, he did it; if wickets needed to be taken, he did it; and of course, he was always there as the leader.

In the list of top run-scorers in Tests in 2014, he finished third with an aggregate of 1201 runs at a Bradmanesque average of 92.38 which included 3 centuries, all of which came on foreign soil. In ODIs, he finished second on the list of top run-getters of 2014 with an aggregate of 1244 runs at an excellent average of 62.20. In both these formats, there were many instances when he rescued his team from trouble and led them to a position from which they can control the proceedings of the match.

Mathews led Sri Lanka to the Asia Cup

He also did his bit with the ball as he picked up 8 wickets at 45 apiece in Tests. Though his average is high, he often subdues the batsmen by giving very little away, which his economy rate of 2.79 indicates. In one-dayers, he has picked up 18 wickets at an average of 36.16. But once again, it’s his economy rate of 4.59 that stands out, clearly indicating how much he makes the batsmen work for their runs.

All in all, it can be said that he is a team man who always gives his all for the team’s good, one of the essential requirements for a good leader.

Having had a look at his numbers as a team player, let’s take a look at his captaincy numbers. Mathews led Sri Lanka in 11 Tests in 2014: matches won 5, drew 4 and lost 2. The highlight of his captaincy in the longer format was the historic Test series win against England.

In both those games played in the series, it was Mathews who made a significant contribution. In the 1st Test, his century in the first innings helped the Lankans get closer to the English total of 575. In the 2nd innings, when they were set an improbable target of 390, the 27-year old showed immense maturity as he grinded it out in the middle for well over 2 hours and ensured that his team salvaged a draw.

In the 2nd Test, he picked up 4 crucial wickets in the English first innings and ensured that they did not get a very big lead. In Sri Lanka’s second essay, he launched a brutal attack on the English bowlers, often considered to be the best in their backyard, and helped Sri Lanka set a stiff target of 350.

Coming to his captaincy in one-dayers, Mathews has led the men from the Emerald Isle to victory in 20 of the 33 matches, the most significant of them being the Asia Cup in 2014. In their unbeaten Asia Cup campaign, yet again, Mathews excelled with both bat and ball as he scored 196 runs at an average of 196. While he didn’t pick many wickets with his bowling, he did his part in controlling the run flow, ending the tournament with an economy rate of 3.71.

Yes, his record got blemished a little towards the fag end of the year when Sri Lanka lost 0-5 to India. However, even in that series, he stood like a colossus, finishing as the top run-scorer in the series from either side. The hallmark of a true leader is to steady the ship himself when the team is going through its rockiest patch.

Mathews edges McCullum if you take into account both the individual and team performances; therefore, he deserves to be crowned as the captain of the year 2014.