Captaincy and Leadership

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Cricket insights with Paul Ryan – A coach and first grade captain facilitate the best centre wicket practice

Former St George District Cricket Club First Grade Premiership Winning Captain Paul Ryan shares some terrific insights into how a club coach and first grade captain facilitated the best centre wicket practice session.

Key Takeaway

Great training does not always involve bat and ball.

Sometimes the most powerful sessions focus on understanding, communication, and shared thinking.

https://www.cricconnect.com/profile/1684/cricket-insights/blog/3613/cricket-insights-with-paul-ryan-ndash-a-coach-and-first-grade-captain-facilitate-the-best-centre-wicket-practice

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4 months ago

Cricket Insights

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Cricket Insights with Richard Chee Quee: Leg Cutters. Short Leg. Support Your Bowlers.

In this Cricket Insight we’re joined by Richard Chee Quee, one of New South Wales cricket’s most respected figures. A stylish right-hand batter, he played 21 first-class and 24 one-day games for NSW, becoming the first Australian of Chinese heritage to play first-class cricket in Australia.

Today, Richard continues to give back as a mentor and Cricket Australia Multicultural Ambassador, helping young captains and players grow through connection, inclusion, and a genuine love of the game.

https://www.cricconnect.com/profile/1684/cricket-insights/blog/3537/cricket-insights-with-richard-chee-quee-leg-cutters-short-leg-support-your-bowlers

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4 months ago

Cricket Insights

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Cricket Insights with Paul Ryan - empowering your team mates in the field

Good captaincy isn’t about acting on every piece of feedback — it’s about inviting it.

When fielders are encouraged to speak up, they stay engaged, the captain stays aware, and the game keeps moving forward.

https://www.cricconnect.com/profile/1684/cricket-insights/blog/3534/cricket-insights-with-paul-ryan-empowering-your-team-mates-in-the-field

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8 months ago

Tamworth, New South Wales, Australia

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What can you do to help the captains in your team or club become better captains?

The captain is the most influential player on any cricket field.

Every decision they make has an impact and an outcome.

A good captain makes the game fun, inspiring others to play better and enjoy it more.

Yet there’s never been a real coaching or education resource to help captains lead better. Until now.

Welcome to the BeaconPoint Cricket: The Captains Circle.

https://www.cricconnect.com/profile/32/paul-ryan/blog/3298/what-can-you-do-to-help-the-captains-in-your-team-or-club-become-better-captains

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9 months ago

Peter Langston

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Happy birthday Ian Michael Chappell.
Thank you.
For many of us, those 70’s punks who undid their top three buttons and grew a moustache, this guy was our hero. He gave Australian cricket a rock ‘n roll backbeat it still thumps along to today. Still able to deliver a two fingered salute in sausage gloves, his was the take no prisoners attitude which transformed Australian cricket, finally stood up to the Australian version of the conservative, self-serving control of what Botham called the “pink gin brigade” and fought for the game, his country and his players … even in the face of the deity of Bradman.
His batting average might be considered only reasonable by the lofty standards of today’s game, played as it is on drop in tame pitches and shortened boundaries with high tech bats as thick as his was wide and helmets and bowling restrictions. Sure, the modern superstars might well have been successful against Wes Hall, Charlie Griffith, John Snow etc … but they wouldn’t be skiting of averages in the fifties. Reverse the time slip. What would Chappell have done today?
To judge him by his batting average would be to entirely miss the point.
He made a career out of the fight, batting in the heat of the engine room, after the ship had hit an iceberg and the band had started playing the first chords of Auld Lang Syne. So many times in at 1 for not much.
It was then the shit in his eye sparkled strongest, dazzling the quickest bowlers into doubt, taming opposition captains with a resilience we all hoped we could garnish into our own game on suburban parks, with our copycat Grey Nicks.
It was a legacy he would expand into words spoken and written in commentary of those who followed, always forthright, not always agreeable but undeniably consistent of the man.
He once said all current players should get down on one knee at the mention of Kerry Packer’s name. If that be so, it’s the Mecca job for “the fecking cowboy!”
All hail Chappell

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10 months ago

Tamworth, New South Wales, Australia

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A cricket captain is unlike any other leader in sport. Every decision — whether it’s the toss, a bowling change, or a subtle shift in the field — can shape the outcome.

But for a role with such influence, there’s no playbook. No place to turn for guidance. No modern resource to help players grow into the role. Until now.

We created The Captain’s Circle, part of BeaconPoint Cricket Club, to support captains, emerging leaders, and anyone who wants to better understand the game.

https://www.cricconnect.com/profile/32/paul-ryan/blog/3171/introducing-the-captainrsquos-circle-mdash-helping-every-player-think-like-a-leader

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last year

Peter Langston

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In a match where the good length ball, pitching outside off and either toward or just away from same, had claimed 15 off the previous 17 wickets, the Australians reverted to bouncers. Granted, it did work in Adelaide … for the only time in recent memory removing the tail. It didn’t work in England. It lost Australia home Tests against West Indies and Pakistan last summer and a previous series v India. Yesterday it cost the side a win. On a day one bowler short in 85% humidity, why use a tactic that has low returns, limits the number of dismissals possible against the most vulnerable batsmen and requires the maximum physical effort from its bowlers …
… and this, boys and girls, is why fast bowlers make lousy tacticians … even the smiley, nice ones.
DUMB CRICKET!

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last year

Patrick Manuel

Student

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How is captaincy and leadership within a team different as you move between grades?

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2 years ago

Cricket Mentoring

Cricket Coach

Perth, Australia

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The Selection of a Captain is one of the most important and critical decisions that a club can make as the impact and influence is deeply felt across all layers within a team, club and community. A poor process and little thought invites risk and disaster, while a well-considered and inviting manner can establish a foundation for progress and success.

This article How to Help a Captain is the next step as a reference for club leaders to identify the support in so that the decision once made, is key for setting up success.

The methodology and logic around Selecting A Captain – Get it Right was written and published in August 2018 with a focus upon how it should be done with some guidance to deliver the expected and desired standards and outcomes.

https://www.cricconnect.com/profile/607/cricket-mentoring/blog/2124/how-to-help-a-cricket-captain

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2 years ago

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What does club cricket mean to you?

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2 years ago

Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Australia

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For many years, I’ve had the good fortune of speaking to several University of New South Wales cricketers who played under the leadership of John Rogers.

John was the captain of the UNSW first grade team when they won the first-grade premiership in Sydney Grade Cricket for the first time in 1976–77.

To this day, the players speak so highly of John Rogers. These men are now in their 60s, yet the reverence and esteem they hold for John is wonderful and inspiring.

Since the moment I met John many years ago at a Sydney test match surrounded by four of his UNSW players, I’ve wanted to know more about his captaincy and leadership.

In response to a request, Chris Chapman wrote this about John Rogers:

https://www.cricconnect.com/profile/32/paul-ryan/blog/2032/the-captaincy-skills-of-john-rogers

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2 years ago

Peter Procopis

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Some thoughts on leadership in cricket and how to get the best out of young players follow.

Recently, I've had the pleasure of some interesting discussions with players, Coaches and Captains of Grade Cricket teams about leadership, and in particular how to get the best out of young players.

Serendipitously, the exchange reproduced below between a journalist and former Australian fast bowler and current South Australian Redbacks Coach, Jason Gillespie, came through one of my feeds this week. In his response, Gillespie neatly captures the essence of one of my contentions during those recent discussions, namely that the most important question a young player, or indeed any cricketer, should be answering via their training, preparation and match play is "What does my team need me to do to help us win?"

https://www.cricconnect.com/profile/946/peter-procopis/blog/1745/some-thoughts-on-leadership-in-cricket-and-how-to-get-the-best-out-of-young-players-follow

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2 years ago

Greg Bush

Lawyer

Bowral, New South Wales, Australia

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My philosophy on captaincy and leadership

• Create a game plan for the team based on the strengths and weaknesses of each player, the opposition players, and the pitch conditions.
• Ensure each player understands their role and buys in to the game plan.
• Be flexible and adjust the plan to respond to game scenarios and conditions.
• Specifically, in the field each batsmen plays each bowler in different ways so I believe a captain should set particular fields for each batsman- usually these are only minor adjustments, for example, squaring up the offside field for a batsman who plays with an open face and hits behind point.
• I also strongly advocate applying pressure on a batsman particularly early in their innings by placing a silly point or short point in their eyeline to stop lunging on front foot to spinners or create hesitancy in playing fast bowlers leading to an edge or false shot.

I’ll give you an example. We were defending about 250 in a 2-day game and the opposition were about 5 for 130 but then had a good partnership. We were bowling tightly and restricting the runs to create pressure on the run rate required hoping for a false shot.

However, it got to the stage the opposition reached about 5 for 200 which meant that if we did not take 5 wickets the game could end up in a draw or a loss.

I made 2 bowling changes and brought in a short point and short leg to apply pressure to the batsmen and create a false shot despite knowing the risk that there were more gaps to score runs.
We got a wicket straight away and then the other established batsmen fell shortly after. We dismissed the tail and achieved a victory.

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2 years ago

Andrew Walton

Cricket Coach

Clifton Hill, Australia

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Improvised, spontaneous leadership.

For the role of a cricket captain in the U10 team, the responsibility is handed over to a new player each week chosen by the previous captain.

The players work out a sense of fairness between themselves (most are in Grade 2 to 4).

As captain, they handle the batting and bowling order and who gets to be wicketkeeper.

Sometimes, the team list gets a little special, like this one from Tom 😀

Why sport is good, beyond the obvious, in building confidence and social skills.

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2 years ago

Mark Preddey

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It is difficult to nominate my ‘best captain’ because I played with so many really great leaders and I feel each brought something different to the table. Most importantly I always felt they had my best interests at heart and wanted their little ‘leggie’ and the team to do well.

So here are a few of my favourite captains and a brief memory of playing with them that has stayed with me.

Andrew Hilditch would take some time chatting and planning fields with me before the game and was always encouraging. At one point during the season ‘Ditch’ knew he had to drop me for the next round, but rather than wait to call me during the week, he took the time to sit me down and speak to me after the game to explain his reasons for doing so. I can remember his reasons were well thought out and constructive, giving me specific things to work on which I really appreciated.

https://www.cricconnect.com/profile/864/mark-preddey/blog/1971/mark-preddey-my-best-captain

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2 years ago

Roger Hughes

Claremont, Tasmania, Australia

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Chris Broadby at Glenorchy Cricket Club in Tasmania Premier Cricket was the best captain I played with along with Peter Mancell at Burnie. Both were really good but in different ways.

Chris had a quiet way of leading but always allowed for individuality from his players. His cricket brain was as good as I have seen and always gave the impression he was in control. The leadership qualities that I appreciated most was his calm strength and his game awareness. There were many examples over the years where he was inspirational, but most were based around saving the team in the lower order with the bat and the hard over bowling that invariably produced a needed wicket.
Although both went about the game very differently both Chris and Peter shared similar captaincy characteristics.

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2 years ago

Alex Patel

Teacher

Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia

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Why do captains or spinners in the modern game tend to bowl with a deep point.

When I bowling there were many times, I beat the batsman in flight and bounce they were caught at point driving or cutting. I always thought the deep point was setting a field for bad bowling.

Why have things changed?

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2 years ago

Rob Thornton

Finance Manager

Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia

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Captaincy is such a massive part of our game, more so than any other sport I can think of.

It’s one thing you recognise pretty quickly when coaching junior teams. You have to prepare alongside your captains and then it’s all over to them on the park. It is not just bowling changes and field placements but lifting energy, reading conditions, getting through the overs in time and being focussed on your own role in the team.

As a player I had some brilliant captains in Australia and Scotland and have also been captain of a number of teams, starting with two Northern NSW Emus tours in the early 1990s.

When I think about the very best captains I played under, who really have had a massive influence on me as a captain and coach, I have to go back to my two captains at City United in Tamworth.

https://www.cricconnect.com/profile/316/rob-thornton/blog/1937/rob-thornton-my-best-captain

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2 years ago

Rhys Soper

Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia

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Rhys Soper - my best captain

It brings a smile to my face thinking about the skippers I played with as they all had different approaches to the game but the one trait, they all had in common was, leadership!

The very first captain I played with in senior cricket was Terry Walters, brother of Australian Test cricketer, Doug Walters.
Terry was a hard-hitting right-hand batsman that I looked up to. I was only 15 when I made by debut playing first grade for Raymond Terrace and Terry made me feel like I belonged.

Terry (TW) knew how to apply pressure better than any other captain I played under. He was very particular with field positions and would not start until everyone was EXACTLY where he wanted them.

His leadership skills were second to none with everyone in the team knowing their roles and were kept accountable.
Another captain I loved playing under was Todd (Soupie) Campbell (pictured). I grew up playing with Soupie and have the honour of calling him a great mate still to this day. The challenge for Soupie was the team he captained (Hamilton Wickham) was full of big personalities. Most of the team grew up playing cricket with one another at an early age and we were and still are all great mates.

The other challenge for him was that the team was extremely successful in the Newcastle competition winning multiple premierships, Tom Locker Cups and SCG Cups. But year after year the fire was there to keep getting the most of each player to do it again and again.

Soupie in my mind was a great leader. He was one of the boys but also had a good head on his shoulders that kept everyone in line and focused on the job at hand. Could win a toss as well!

Played with many more captains including the NSW skipper at the time, Phil Emery. Had the privilege of playing a game with Mark Taylor and would love to have played more with him as I could see the respect he had with the group. Anyway, thanks again as it was great to reminisce thinking of great times with great leaders.

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2 years ago

Richard Stobo

Teacher