The retirement of Virat Kohli as India’s Test captain at the conclusion of the recent Test series against South Africa (SA) which India (Ind) lost 1-2 has solicited mixed reactions from past and present cricketers across the cricketing world. The responses have reflected both shock and at the same time have been fraught with plaudits and accolades.
Being a successful captain/leader is no mean feat especially in the modern-day where performance is measured by wins/losses and titles won. Additionally, captains are under constant scrutiny by fans through social media and the exponential growth of cricket pundits and analysts namely former cricketers.
However, some captains have been able to rise about the normative expectations of managing [captaining] a team by indoctrinating transformative leadership skills and expectations through the establishment of a competitive culture, attitude and style of play in every aspect of the game - batting, bowling, fielding and fitness.
This does not mean that change is not without tension and fallouts as persons respond to change differently. As creatures of habit, some personnel may be more resistant to change- new training and fitness regiments- while others are more adaptable and embrace change easily.
Since the first Test match between Australia (Aus) and England (Eng) in 1877 at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, Australia, 2,449 Test matches have been played to date- fifth Test Australia vs England, January 2022.
So, who have been the most successful captains in Test history to date in terms of percent wins?
1 Steve Waugh (Aus) 1999-04, 57 matches (M), 41 wins, 9 loses , 7 draws, 71.92 % Win
2 Ricky Pointing (Aus) 2004-10, 77M, 48 wins, 16 loses, 13 draws, 62.33 % Win
3 Virat Kohli (Ind) 2014-22, 68M, 40 wins, 17 loses, 11 draws, 58.82 % Win
4 Mike Brearley (Eng) 1977-81, 31M, 18 wins, 4 loses, 9 draws, 58.06% Win
5 Kane Williamson (NZ) 2016-2021 38 M, 22 wins, 8 loses, 8 draws, 57.89% Win
6 Bill Woodfull (Aus) 1930-34, 25M, 14 wins, 7 loses, 4 draws, 56% Win
7 Steve Smith* (Aus) 2014-21, 35M, 19 wins, 10 loses, 6 draws, 54.28% Win
8 Vivian Richards (West Indies) 1980-91, 50M, 27 wins, 8 loses, 15 draws, 54.00% Win
9 Shaun Pollock (SA) 2000-03, 26M, 14 wins, 5 loses, 7 draws, 53.84 Win
10 Mark Taylor (Aus) 1994-1999, 50M, 26 wins, 13 loses, 11 draws, 52.00% Win
11 Michael Clarke (Aus) 2011-15, 47M, 24 wins, 16 loses, 11 draws, 51.06 %Win
12 Michael Vaughn (Eng) 2003-08, 51M, 26 wins, 11 loses, 14 draws, 50.98% Win
13 Hansie Cronje (SA)1994-2000, 53M, 27 wins, 11 loses, 15 draws, 50.94% Win
14 Ian Chappell (Aus) 1971-75, 30M, 15 wins, 5 loses, 10 draws, 50.00%, Win
15 Clive Lloyd (WI) 1974-85, 74M, 36 wins, 12 loses, 11 draws, 48.64% Win
16 Graeme Smith (SA) 2003-14, 109M, 53 wins, 29 loses, 27 draws, 48.62% Win
17 Peter May (Eng) 1955-61, 41M, 20 wins, 10 loses, 11 draws, 48.78% Win
18 Andrew Strauss (Eng) 2006-12) 50M, 24 wins, 11 loses, 15 draws, 48.00% Win
19 Wasim Akram (Pakistan) 1993-99, 25M, 12 wins, 8 loses, 5 draws, 48% Win
20 Misbaq ul Haq (Pak) 2010-17, 56M, 26 wins, 19 loses, 11 draws, 46.42 Win
It is evident from the above that leadership/captaincy along with a talented and skilled team has contributed to the dominance of a few teams in Test cricket. In the case of the West Indies under the leadership of Clive Lloyd, the regional team was undefeated in 26 successive Tests and also won 11 successive matches. Lloyd’s successor, Vivian Richards never lost a Test series as a captain and thereby reaffirming West Indies dominance from 1980-1991.
Australia's dominance from the 1990s commenced with Mark Taylor’s leadership and continued with successive captains - Steve Waugh, Ricky Pointing, Michael Clarke, Steve Smith. Patrick Cummins has started off his leadership perfectly win a 4-0 win over arch-rivals England and time will tell how he will be remembered as a captain.
India’s current rise in Test cricket started in the 2000s with the leadership of Sourav Ganguly, then Mahendra Dhoni until Virat Kohli took over in 2015. During his tenure, he became the most successful Indian Test captain with 40 wins in 68 matches.
Current West Indies Test captain Kraigg Brathwaite has to find a way to stamp his leadership style to lift the West Indies out of the doldrums of Test cricket especially when playing against the top rank teams - Australia, India, New Zealand, South Africa and Pakistan.