Captain (cricket) - Citizendia

The captain of a cricket team is a player who, during the course of a match, has several additional roles and responsibilities over and above those of a regular player. Cricket is a bat-and-ball team Sport that originated in England and is now played in more than 100 countries As in other sports, the captain is usually an experienced cricketer with good communication skills, who is likely to be one of the most regular members of the team; indeed the captain often has a say in team selection. In team sports a captain is a title given to the member of the team Before the game the captains toss for innings. In the sport of Cricket, a Coin is tossed to determine which team bats first During the match each captain decides the team's batting order, who will bowl each over, and where each fielder will stand. In Cricket, the batting order is the sequence in which batsmen go to the Crease to bat Muralijpg|thumb|250px|right|The world's leading off-spin bowler Muttiah Muralitharan sends down a delivery]] A bowler in the Sport of Cricket is usually In the sport of Cricket, an over is a set of six consecutive balls bowled in succession Fielding in the Sport of Cricket is what fielders do to collect the ball when it is struck by the Batsman, in such a way as to either While the captain has the final say, decisions are often collaborative. A captain's knowledge of the complexities of cricket strategy and tactics, and shrewdness in the field, may contribute significantly to the team's success.

Due to the smaller coaching/management role played out by support staff, the captain of a cricket team typically shoulders more responsibility for results then captains of other sports.

1 Captain's responsibilities
- 1.1 During a match
- 1.2 Other duties
2 Vice-captaincy
3 Current Captains
4 Further reading

Captain's responsibilities

During a match

The toss

Before the start of a match the home captain tosses a coin and the away captain calls heads or tails. The captain who wins the toss is given the choice of whether to bat or bowl first. The decision usually depends on the condition of the pitch and whether it is likely to deteriorate, the weather conditions, the weather forecast

Fielding positions

The captain sets where the fielders will stand, in consultation with the bowler and sometimes other senior players. Fielding in the Sport of Cricket is what fielders do to collect the ball when it is struck by the Batsman, in such a way as to either The fielding positions will usually be dictated by the type of bowler, the batsman's batting style, and the captain's assessment of the state of the match (and hence whether to set an attacking or a defensive field). In the sport of Cricket there are two broad categories of bowlers: pace bowlers and spin bowlers

Powerplays

From July 7, 2005 the captain decides when to take Powerplay 2 and 3 in ODI matches. A Powerplay is a rule introduced in 2005 concerning fielding restrictions in One Day International (ODI cricket Note Most of the information here pertains to men's cricket ODI matches are also played in Women's cricket. If the batting team's run rate is high after Powerplay 1 then the captain might choose to take the other two power plays later on the innings to slow the run rate down. He may take them when the attacking batsmen are out, or when the run rate has been reduced.

Bowling

The captain decides when each bowler will bowl. If a batsman is seeking to dominate the current bowler, the captain may ask someone else to bowl; alternatively, keeping the bowler on may be deemed the best chance of getting the batsman out. If the regular bowlers are not achieving the desired results, the captain may decide to use non-regular bowlers to attempt to unsettle the batsmen. The captain may also change the bowlers around to introduce variation, and to prevent the batsmen getting "set".

In limited overs cricket the captain additionally has to make certain that bowlers bowl no more than their allotted maximum number of overs, and that experienced bowlers are available at the end of the batting side's innings, when the batsmen are usually looking to take risks to attack and score quickly. NightMatchOldTraffordjpg|right|thumb|350px|A night match at Old Trafford.

In the longer forms of cricket, when a new ball becomes available the captain decides whether to use it. A cricket ball is a hard solid Ball used to play Cricket. Manufacture Cricket balls are made from a core of cork, which is layered

Batting order

When the team bats, the captain decides the batting order. In professional cricket the captain usually changes the established batting order only for exceptional reasons, because batsmen tend to specialize in batting at certain positions. However, in certain circumstances it may be in the team's interest to change the batting order. If quick runs are needed, a naturally attacking batsman may be promoted up the order. A player who is 'in form' may be promoted to a higher batting position, at the expense of a player who is 'out of form'.

If a wicket falls near the end of a day's play, especially if the light is failing, or if the bowlers seem particularly confident, the captain may choose to send in a non-specialist batsman, referred to as a nightwatchman. In the sport of Cricket, a nightwatchman is a lower-order Batsman who comes in to bat higher up the order than usual near the end of the day's play If the night wathchman does not get out before the end of play then the specialist batsman will have been protected, and will not need to bat until the following day when conditions are likely to have improved. If the nightwatchman does get out, the cost of losing a late wicket will have been minimized, because the specialist batsman is still available to bat.

Declarations

The captain may declare the team's innings closed at any time, but usually only does so as an attacking ploy, for instance if the captain thinks the team has enough runs to win the match, or if a sudden change in conditions has made it advantageous to bowl rather than bat.

Follow-on

In a two-innings match, if the situation arises the captain decides whether to impose the follow on. Follow-on is a term used in the Sport of Cricket to describe a situation where the team that bats second is forced to take its second batting innings immediately after

Miscellaneous

The captain is also consulted on whether an injured batsman from the opposing team may use a runner when batting. In Cricket, a runner is a team member who runs between the Wickets for an injured Batsman. Permission is usually given if the batsman has become injured during the course of the match, but if the batsman was carrying the injury at the start of the match then the captain may refuse.

Other duties

As well as decisions taken either immediately before or during a match, captains also often have some responsibility for the good running of the cricket club. For instance, he or she may decide when the team is to practice, and for how long. In professional cricket the captain often has some say in who will form the squad from which teams are selected, and may also decide how young up-and-coming players are to be encouraged and improved, and how members of the squad who are not regularly selected for first-team matches are to gain match practice to be kept match-fit.

Vice-captaincy

The captain may be assisted by a vice-captain. This is particularly useful when the captain is forced to leave the field of play during fielding, due to injury or illness (etc). Some teams also allocate the vice-captain a more or less formal role in assisting with team selection, discipline, field-setting etc. There is no such rule that a vice captain will be appointed as the next captain.

Vice captain may have a say in setting up the batting order along with the captain in consensus seeing the team's capability.