5 Test Captains With Most Innings Defeats

It goes without saying that cricket, fondly called gentlemen's game, is one of the most popular games played across the globe. Of all the three formats of the game, Test cricket is considered the toughest as it tests the players' skill, character, and temperament. Like in all the other team sports, the captain is the most crucial member of the team, who plays a key role in leading the individuals in the right direction to bring out their best.

From selecting the final eleven, to deciding the batting order, to choosing field placements - a captain is involved in everything. Without a captain, the team is a mere clueless herd. That is the reason why he takes the lion's share of credit and criticism in the team's success and failure, respectively.

But in reality, a captain is more talked about for his failures than his successes. A Test match loss is a nightmare for him and if it is by an innings margin, it is a disaster. There were some captains in the history of the game who have been involved in multiple innings defeats during their captaincy stint.

Let us look at 5 such captains with most innings defeats in their captaincy tenure.

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#5 Arjuna Ranatunga (9 in 56 matches)

The cricketing world remembers Arjuna Ranatunga as the leader who took Sri Lankan cricket to greater heights by winning the 1996 ICC Cricket World Cup with his immaculate captaincy skills.

Ranatunga captained the Sri Lankan Test team in 56 Tests from 1989-1998. Out of these, Sri Lanka won 12, lost 19 and drew 25. But 9 out of his 19 losses were innings defeats.

The mighty left-hander has served Sri Lanka in 93 Tests and 269 ODIs scoring 5105 and 7456 runs with the bat and scalping 16 and 79 wickets with his medium pace, respectively.

#4 Nasser Hussain (9 in 45 matches)

Nasser Hussain

Nasser Hussain is the Indian-origin English cricketer who captained England cricket team from 1999 to 2003. Hussain took over the captaincy in 1999 under tough circumstances. Despite losing his maiden series as a captain to New Zealand at home, Nasser went on to win four Test series in a row to take England to 3rd position in the ICC Test rankings when it was launched.

Nasser lead England in 45 Tests, where he won 17, lost 15 and 13 were drawn. Out of his 15 losses as a captain, 9 were lost with a margin of over an innings.

The Madras-born cricketer has represented England in 96 Tests and 88 ODIs, scoring 5764 and 2332 runs, respectively.

#3 Habibul Bashar (9 in 18 matches)

Habibul Bashar

Habibul Bashar will be remembered as the greatest ever captain to lead Bangladesh. Under Bashar's leadership, Bangladesh challenged the world cricket before becoming an inconsistent team.

Taking over the captaincy from Khaled Mahmud in 2003, Bashar lead Bangladesh in 18 Tests of which Bangla lost 13, drew 4 and won a solitary match against Zimbabwe in 2004.

Representing Bangladesh in 50 Tests and 111 ODIs, Bashar scored 3026 and 2168 runs respectively. Bashar has 3 Test tons against his name with his 113 against West Indies in 2004 being his highest score in Tests.

#2 John Richard Reid (10 in 34 matches)

John Richard Reid

John Richard Reid is a former Kiwi cricketer who lead New Zealand for over a decade in 34 Tests. He was New Zealand's first ever captain to achieve victory both at home and away.

Of his 34 Tests as a captain, Reid won 3, lost 18 and drew 13. Out of his 18 losses, 10 came in as innings defeats.

Playing 58 Tests for New Zealand, John scored 3428 runs with the bat and picked up 85 wickets with the ball. Richard has 6 Test centuries and a five-wicket haul to his name.

#1 Khaled Mashud (10 in 12 matches)

Khalid Mashud

Khaled Mashud was Bangladesh's second Test captain and their premier wicket-keeper from 2001 to 2004. Besides being the first choice wicket-keeper, Mashud was the lone warrior for Bangladesh, batting at 7, in many lost battles. Mashud was the keeper who contributed to Bangladesh's first ever hat-trick in ODIs by taking a couple of stunning catches off Shahadat Hossain's bowling.

He also has an unwanted record against his name as he lost all the 12 matches in which he lead Bangladesh. Shockingly, all of them are innings defeats.

Overall, Mashud played 44 Tests and 126 ODIs for Bangladesh, scoring nearly 3200 runs in both formats combined. He also has a Test century to his name.