Captain (cricket)

In cricket, the captain is the most important member of the squad. It is he who calls the shots on the field marshalling his fielders and bowlers around. His acumen is vital to the team's success. As in other sports, the captain is usually an experienced player with good communication skills and whose place is usually guaranteed in the squad. The captain is aided by the Vice-Captain. The captain's shrewdness in the field is vital. Here are the roles of the captain.

Toss

Before the start of a match the captain calls the toss. If he wins the toss, he may either bat or bowl depending on the team's strategy.

Setting the field

The captain sets the field in consultation with the bowler and sometimes other senior players. He decides to place attacking or defensive field placements. The nature of bowling and the batsman's batting type decides the field positioning.

Shuffling the bowlers

The captain decides when a bowler bowls, and how many overs at a stretch he bowls. If a batsman is 'hammering' the bowler for runs, he may replace the bowler. If the bowler is bowling restrictively, he keeps him till his 10 overs are up in an ODI match. He can try and employ non regular bowlers to unsettle a batsman. He also juggles his bowlers around so that a batsman cannot get used to one bowler. The skipper has to make certain when each bowler has to bowl and keep some overs of his experienced bowlers to the end of a ODI innings, (as maximum runs are scored then).

Batting order

In batting the captain decides the batting order. If quick runs are needed, a batsman with the capability to 'hit over the top' (6's and 4's) is promoted up the order. A player 'in form' is promoted to a higher batting position.

Miscellaneous

The captain also uses his discretion to allow the use of a runner to an injured batsman. In Test cricket, the captain also has the power to declare his team innings, to take a new ball and impose the 'Follow On'.