/ Editor / 15 February 2007 /

There are batsmen, there are bowlers and there are all-rounders, but is there any role as important in international cricket as the captain? Depending on the country, he may set the batting order, the bowling rotation, who fields where, but in all cases he is the man given the responsibility of keeping his team awake in the field and always demanding that little bit of extra effort to improve their winning edge.

So just how do the captains in the game match up these days and is there such a thing as the best captain in the world? This feature will take a look at the main playing captains in the game today and give you some kind of idea what makes them tick.

If someone was to ask you who is the best captain in the game it would be tough to imagine the name given not being one of these three players; Ricky Ponting, Michael Vaughan and Stephen Fleming.

Now it would seem obvious from that list the most successful captain - Ponting - should also be the best, but it really is a tough call between them when you take into consideration the way they lead their team and just what assets they have at their disposal.

Ponting is the captain of the most successful team in world cricket - Australia - and has an unenviable record since taking over from Steve Waugh when the legendary all-rounder retired in 2004 - he had been their one-day captain since 2002.

He has since won 27 of the 35 Tests in which he has captained the side, with just one defeat against India and two important reverses in the 2005 Ashes series that saw the 'little urn' make it's all too brief return to English hands. Ponting also boasts one of the best ODI records as captain with a 77% strike rate of 105 wins in 136 matches.

But does that necessarily make him the best? Well seemingly not as he failed to land the inaugural ICC Captain of the Year prize in 2006 (the winner was Sri Lanka's rookie skipper Mahela Jayawardene) and instead was named Player of the Year.

And that, it seems, is the problem for Ponting as he has so many assets at his side to make the Australian captain's role almost of no effect. Similar comments have also been made about the role of Australian coach.

Indeed there are pundits who have questioned his ability to lead, at least in pure cricketing terms - he is more of an inspirational captain than a decision-maker and those decisions he made during the 2005 Ashes series defeat came under the microscope at home. Many say his success comes, or came, from the fact that when he was in trouble in the field all he had to do was hand the ball to either Shane Warne or Glenn McGrath. How well he will perform in the role with the retirement of both of his leading wicket-takers at the same time, remains to be seen.

In pure captaincy terms, Fleming and Vaughan appear to have the better CVs despite records that do not hold a light to that of Ponting.

New Zealand skipper Fleming is the longest-serving captain in the game, having taken over some 10 years ago and barely been under pressure since, and his quiet style of going about the job is seen as very effective considering the standard of player he is leading.

He has won 28 of the 80 Tests he has captained, with 25 draws and 27 defeats, and given that New Zealand are ranked only seventh in the ICC World Rankings that is a record he can be somewhat proud of. He is the most successful captain in New Zealand's Test history and the world record holder for ODIs as captain after moving past the 200 mark in the recent, albeit, disappointing Commonwealth Bank series with Australia and England.

Fleming has often made vital bowling changes and field position moves to take a wicket and is known to be one of the fiercest students of the game's history, learning from the likes of Martin Crowe and John Wright, and the way he brings together his players is hard to beat. That he is also one of the most consistent batsmen in world cricket and one of the leading fielders puts him right up there among the world's best overall players.

But surely he would be challenged by England skipper Vaughan if his last year and a half had not been so badly blighted by injury, with many in the media feeling the chances of England losing the recent Ashes series 5-0 would have been highly unlikely had he been leading the side.

Vaughan has led England in 33 Tests with 19 of those ending in victories and another eight in draws, and he has developed into probably the best thinking captain in the world since taking over in 2003 when Nasser Hussain stood down.

He is a very stubborn captain, and once on the field, usually makes most of the decisions himself - and that, given his excellent cricket brain, is not a bad thing. It is also something that cricketing scribes wished Andrew Flintoff had shown at times during the 2006/7 Ashes whitewash, with coach Duncan Fletcher admitting the rest of the team had missed Vaughan's leadership.

Vaughan's leadership in the 2005 Ashes was probably the best series performance by any captain over the last decade, and the amount of times his decisions in the field led to vital wickets was one of the most memorable occurrences of the summer most England fans will never forget.

So what of Jayawardene, the ICC Captain of the Year? Well his first season in the role was certainly a great one, but it remains to be seen how long the effect he has on Sri Lanka's performances lasts. Like Ponting, he is boosted by the cogs he has in his team, and the fact that he has only captained three Test matches so far and that his award was based on one-day performances means he has a lot to prove.

And remember also that his Sri Lanka side also includes two former Test match captains with deep levels of experience in Marvan Atapattu and Sanath Jayasuriya, who are also key members of their decision-making team.

South Africa's Graeme Smith is probably next in line, but he is a completely different type of captain and certainly more of a motivational leader rather than a thinker. But his record is reasonable at 19 wins and 12 draws from 46 Tests and he also manages to hold down a role as one of the game's best opening batsmen.

He is also excellent under pressure but has been known to be a bit too reactionary at times, trying to expect too much from his few star players and not giving others the chance to shine and he has been in trouble a number of times with the ICC over his behaviour on the field - of the captains mentioned so far he is probably the biggest talker and the least popular among opponents, who often see him as over-arrogant and brash.

West Indies skipper Brian Lara, now in the job for the third time, lives up to his laid-back character in the role, possibly explaining why his terms in charge have not been very successful as he has just 10 Test wins in 47 matches. Meanwhile, India captain Rahul Dravid is probably the quietest of the captains, who relies on wisdom from the likes of Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly in his decision-making process.

Pakistan skipper Inzamam-ul-Haq also has his supporters, but again his record is poor considering the players he is leading and the strength of their bowling attack - just 11 wins in 31 attempts is not really up to standard.

He is also the most serious captain among the current internationals, with the episode at The Oval last autumn, albeit very political and certainly led by officials above his level, not showing him in the most positive light. His decision making has also been criticised at times, along with his ability to read pitch conditions, leading to an over-reliance on pace bowling when spin is more likely to be of positive use.

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