Strauss the captain

‘I am the master of my destiny; I am the captain of my soul.’

I wonder if, by any chance, Andrew Strauss is a fan of William Ernest Henley? His above quote is entirely appropriate for the England captain. His sublime, bold innings of 142 on the first day of the Fourth Test wasn’t merely a sole brilliant innings, drifting alone in a sea of low scores. It was his second big hundred of the series following on from that majestic 169 in Antigua. Both innings have come just after his captaincy of the side has been announced - a coincidence? Not on your life.

Strauss’ world class form is fundamentally linked to him being appointed captain. When in charge of the team, he is as confident as the gargantuan slog sweep for six that brought up his hundred in Barbados. The Jamaica debacle aside, Strauss has been quite brilliant with the bat this series and it follows his twin centuries in Chennai earlier this winter, made in much trickier conditions. Yes, the pitches so far this series may be as flat and as batsman friendly as your local village green but take nothing away from Strauss. His batting is ridiculously formidable at the moment and will hopefully tide over into that small matter of the Ashes later this summer.

It is not the first time Strauss’ batting and his captaincy have had a concurrent relationship. Way back in the heady days of 2006, when Monty Panesar was still a hugely promising young bowler, running rings round the Pakistani batsmen, Strauss was made captain in Andrew Flintoff’s enforced absence. He duly cracked two counter attacking second innings hundreds in the series and helped himself to as much acclaim from as many quarters as possible. He even wedged himself into contention to captain that winter’s Ashes series down under; he lost out to Andrew Flintoff and we all know what happened there.

Strauss’ form dipped dramatically from that moment on, likely as a result of his casting aside from the England selectors. He had a poor Ashes series, registering only one score of over fifty in the drubbing at Melbourne and proceeded to be equally as profligate in the home series with the West Indies and India. Without a Test hundred since that Pakistan series, he was dropped for the series in Sri Lanka, where England took something of a pasting, and managed to scrap his way back onto the tour of New Zealand. He hit a staggeringly huge hundred, although he was hardly at his convincing best and then reinforced his position with some sporadically good performances over that following summer. All of which has led to the Strauss that we now find ourselves with.

Strauss isn’t the only man to see his batting flourish in the role of captain. Many lament Flintoff’s captaincy and his form during the brief and painful time he was in charge but perhaps those critics forget his first few Tests in charge. Four consecutive fifties in four innings in India helped England to a famous draw, immediately after he was tossed into the breach as captain. It is noteworthy that his bowling also earned him a whole dictionaries worth of superlatives.

And who can forget Kevin Pietersen’s hundred at the Oval last summer in his first game as captain? There were concerns that the leadership of the side would hinder his explosive style of batting but Pietersen combined attacking flamboyance with restrained defence to score a wonderful century (before getting out next ball). He also weighed in with a supreme 144 in India this winter, even finding the time to unveil his unique switch hitting abilities.

Captaincy of a side can drive a man to great things. One needs only observe Ricky Ponting’s single minded determination to win back the Ashes in 2006. Ponting, found liable by many an Australian media outlet for the defeat in the 2005 Ashes, embodied a man possessed as he scored a massive volume of runs, crushing English spirit and hopes and showing his own side the way forward. His 196 in Brisbane was a master class of batting and a pure example of a captain showing his team what is possible. And don’t forget Graeme Smith’s courageous, match-winning 154 not out at Edgbaston against England last summer. Here was a man and a captain so determined to win a game and a series for his nation that he closed his mind to the possibility of getting out or anything else and just batted and batted and batted.

Strauss’ performances so far as captain have only served to reinforce the theory that his batting form is inextricably linked with the captaincy. Maybe it is just an ego thing, a man desperate for his name to be up in lights. Or maybe it’s just a man charged with representing and leading his country by example. Maybe it’s the responsibility that sits so well with Strauss - the need to back up his position with good scores and the desire to not have his authority or his place undermined. Either way, it’s extremely refreshing to see Strauss in such good form and providing there are no more dramas regarding English captaincy between now and July, then he could be in the best possible position to perform his own version of Ponting’s 2006 heroics and seriously murder some inexperienced Australian bowling. Here’s hoping the rest of the team can follow the example.

(The Corridor, 2009)