Oh captain, my captain: Ben Stokes congratulates Jack Leach on the wicket. Photo: AAMIR QURESHI/AFP via Getty Images
There is a thesis to be written by someone about the role of smileys in cricket. In the famous Ashes match at Headingley in 1981, Ian Botham only started to throw his shots at the top of his second inning after being forced to follow by England, but then failing to hit a wild lean on Dennis Lilly's pitch.
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Universal glanced nervously at the players' balcony, only to see a wide grin beaming back at him. Mike Brearley explains in «The Art of the Captain» that he was trying to convey «my pleasure in its looseness and unqualified approval of its continuation in this extravagant spirit». Botham scored an incredible 149 points and gave England enough of a lead that bowlers led by Bob Willis could overtake Australia by 111 to win the game by 18 points.
If the «uninhibited approach» sounds good, well, Buzzbally, there are also clear parallels in the captaincy of Brearley and Ben Stokes — including knowing when to flash your teeth. Last week, Somerset spinner Jack Leach told the Telegraph Sport's Vaughany and Tuffers Cricket Club podcast how Stokes constantly reassures him that «my ceiling is higher than I thought.»
If the batsman is following him, the Leach may ask for the mid-off to be pushed back. Stokes, preferring the offensive line, will most often say no. But then, if the spinner is hit from above, he will look back and see his skipper «clapping and clapping, with a big smile on his face.»
The results speak for themselves. At the Gabba in Brisbane in December 2021, Leach lost 102 out of 13 overs, giving him a savings figure of 7.84, the sixth worst spank in Test history. Last year, he took 46 Test wickets, the third most of any bowler, behind only South Africa's Kagiso Rabada and Australia's Nathan Lyon, who took just one more wicket.
Leach is England's microcosmic team. With more or less the same group of players managing just one win in 17 matches, Brandon McCallum and Stokes then chalked it up to 10 wins in 11 matches, losing 12th to New Zealand by one run. This is the closest lead value to a control experiment outside of laboratory conditions. And the world overseas is taking notice.
Ben Stokes, seen at a recent headingley test with Mark Wood, is spreading the good mood among the team. Photo: Stu Forster/Getty Images
“Stokes' captaincy will be an example of leadership for years to come,” says Steve. Wilkinson, EY UK Vice President who has worked with business leaders and top sports coaches. «It will be interesting to see how his approach is broken down and analyzed.»
In his latest book, Turning the Pebbles, Brearley, who became a psychoanalyst and psychotherapist after he hung up his batting gloves, hints at the lessons that sports can teach the corporate world, and vice versa, when he writes about the two main traits of captaincy: and strategy, the other with human relations.»
He adds: «The latter requires the personal qualities of empathy, truthfulness and courage.»
Further in the book, Brearley quotes from «War and Peace where Tolstoy describes how the Russian general Mikhail Kutuzov “knew that the decisive element in the war was “this intangible force, the spirit of the army,” so “he kept his eyes on this force and directed it to the best of his ability.”
There are many things that separate Brearley and Stokes — not least their era and cricketing ability, but more obviously their academic background (a first in the classics from Cambridge compared to a single GCSE in PE). However, both are seasoned captains who have turned losing sides into winners by making the most of talented people and harnessing the power of the team. Stokes tends to downplay his intelligence, but he's no fool. The former English analyst Nathan Limon, a past-life Cambridge educated math teacher, once told me that Stokes solved the logic puzzles Limon gave players to pass the time in the rain faster than any of his advanced A-level math students. .
Stokes' strategic mind has been repeatedly demonstrated by his use of innovative pitch settings, unorthodox bowling tactics, and knife edge claims. But it is in what Brearley calls «human relations» that Stokes's approach can find its widest application. Stokes, like Brearley before him, seems like an instinctive Kutuzov and, whether he knows it or not, uses the same performance management techniques and organizational theory as the most forward-thinking companies.
Englishman Ben Stokes and head coach Brandon McCallum during a net game at Lord's Club last month. Photo: PA
While talk of empathy and empowerment may seem rather vague, there is strong academic support for how Stokes manages his team. Psychologists have used measurements of brain activity (such as MRI) to show that threats to social problems can elicit physiological responses similar to those elicited by physical stimuli. Banishment, for example, can activate the same areas of the brain as hunger. Threats to status can lead to an increase in cortisol levels (which is associated with anxiety). Lack of clarity can activate similar neural responses to physical pain.
Large companies are using these scientific discoveries to refine their understanding of how to motivate people. However, Stokes doesn't need a PhD or a management manual. It seems quite natural to him. It has created a team identity with a clear mission: to win, but also to entertain, thus helping to maintain Test cricket's status across multiple formats and franchises. This culture is reinforced by a consistent selection and avoidance of overly needy people who can lead to destructive interactions within the organization.
It was enough to get high in Edgbaston, Headingley and even Lord's this summer to realize Stokes' England. the side has been incredibly successful in engaging its most important «stakeholders» — the fans.
“It looks like Stokes clarified his expectations, took the risk out of the team and gave them the psychological safety to perform their best,” says Wilkinson.
That's the importance of Stokes' smile.
Cummins interprets the Australian captaincy in its own way — with some help from Smith Ashes' analysis: Tim Wigmore
In this Ashes series, the captaincy issue was discussed to an unusual degree: a reflection of Ben Stokes' radical approach and a clear contrast to Australia. And yet it is Pat Cummins, an overall more typical leader in style, though atypical for a bowling captain, who is one game away from victory.
Mark Taylor, one of Australia's most successful captains, led the team to a fateful victory in the West Indies in 1995 and three Ashes triumphs — watched the captains clash with interest, commenting on Sky Sports. For the Australian, the inversion of traditional Ashes cricket roles was undeniable.
“In general, Australia has been the more aggressive of the two cricketing sides, perhaps in the history of Ashes cricket, but especially more recently,” says Taylor. Now “you have Australia, the more traditional Test match side. And, in a way, Pat is the more traditional type of captain.”
However, with all the curiosity to see Australia in the role of a more defensive team, Taylor believes that the different styles adopted by the two captains hide what unites them.
“Pat more or less told his players exactly what Ben told his players – play the kind of cricket that you feel comfortable playing,” says Taylor. “Your job is not to lay down the law and say exactly how you are going to play. This allows your players to play the kind of cricket they feel most comfortable playing. I think both captains are doing a great job.”
“In a way, his philosophy is not that different from Ben's. I don't think he views cricket as a matter of life or death — and neither should you. He is obviously very competitive, as is Ben. But in the end you win, lose or tie, walk away, have a beer and move on to the next game.”
“I think cricket should always be played this way even though it is a professional game. So I think he's got a pretty good balance.»
«I was taught years ago that if you can get the game of cricket as close to the game as possible, you'll be the best.» cricket.
“If his approach is slightly different from previous Australian skippers, Cummins is unusual in one respect: he is the first full-time fast bowl captain in Australian Test history. «I've always argued that it's harder for a bowling captain,» Taylor says. «If you're the captain, you don't have to worry about how to bowl.»
To deal with the combined challenges of bowling and captaincy, Cummins was unusual in how much he leaned on his vice-captain. Steve Smith, who himself served as captain until the sandpaper incident in 2018, often gestures for players to enter the field.
Steve Smith (left) returned to an official leadership role in 2021 to work alongside Patt Cummins (right). Photo: PA/Mike Egerton
“There is no doubt that he works closely with his older players. He works very closely with Steve Smith, who I see sometimes manipulating the pitch when Pat is bowling just to take some pressure off him, which I think is a very good and smart thing to do.”
As a non-bowling captain, you don't have to do this as often. You have all that free time between deliveries to think, think not only about the bowlers that are bowling at the moment, but about who will be bowling next and what kind of field you might have.”< /p>
The eternal question for bowling captains is how much they themselves play. Ray Illingworth played noticeably less as England captain than in the ranks. As alternate captain, Andrew Flintoff once hit 51 overs in a single inning. But Taylor thinks Cummins struck the right balance and enjoyed playing the ball for extended periods of time when it was dangerous.
Sometimes Taylor thinks the Cummins margins were too conservative. On the first morning in Edgbaston he understood the meaning of the deep point; deep square foot, not really. «It's a really bad bowling position,» explains Taylor. «I wish that square foot would stay up and allow the bowlers to hit the stumps a little more.»
Taylor also believes that in Australia, English batsmen often didn't manage to go astray. “I always thought that no player wants to get a duck. So you're trying to keep the guy away from nothing for as long as you can. Having said that, today's players rely a lot more on borders than I did in my time.”
Overall, though, Taylor thinks Cummins has adjusted to England's approach impressively, especially given the slow and flat pitches in the first two tests. Indeed, he also notes England's use of sweepers during the Ashes of 2005: «Michael Vaughan did a good job of stopping Australia's borders and that's why I think Australia is certainly using a similar method here.»
He was also impressed with Cummins' adaptability, such as when he laid down a sliding cordon during a treacherous period for England freshmen on Day 3 at Edgbaston.
“England will play aggressively, will beat you over the borders. Be ready for it and accept it. But also know that because they are so aggressive, they will give you opportunities. Then you just have to trust that your bowling and playing on the pitch will be better than their ability to hit.»
While Stokes' England relies on a fierce belief in its methods, Taylor believes that the same is true for Cummins in Australia. In fact, he sees the very reluctance of the Cummins to try to outdo England at their own game as a sign of strength.
It would be tempting for Pat to say, 'Listen guys, we believe we' are the better side again. We are the test world champions, we hold the ashes. Let's go and show them that we can play this kind of cricket.» But he didn't. He said: “We became world champions in testing by playing a certain way. Let's not deviate now just because England is trying to change the game. «So it's a lot of faith in yourself.»
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