Sportskeeda Cricket Awards 2014: Captain of the Year

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.