Ricky Ponting

Calcutta: Ricky Ponting isn’t just one of the modern day greats where batting is concerned, he has been an incredibly successful Australian captain.

Indeed, his success percentage in Tests is an awesome 75.61 (31 wins, 4 losses in four years) and an equally amazing 75.45 in ODIs (126 wins, 31 losses in six years).

The other day, Ponting — one of the top guns in Shah Rukh Khan’s Kolkata Knight Riders — spoke to The Telegraph exclusively on captaincy.

The following are excerpts from the 45-minute one-on-one

Style of captaincy

I’ve always tried to be pretty open with the team… I realise that what I personally believe in may not always be the right way (forward)… I share my thoughts with others in the dressing room and get others to share their thoughts too… I’ve never tried to distance myself from the other guys and captaincy hasn’t changed the way I behave in the dressing room… Captaincy brings with it more responsibilities, like giving the younger guys a bit of direction, but I’ve tried to remain the same person.

Role model captain

I was fortunate to play under some very good captains for Tasmania… David Boon, Jamie Cox… Also, some very good captains when I began playing for Australia — Mark Taylor and Steve Waugh… But it’s not that I’ve only learnt from them… I’ve been part of some very good Australian teams and I’ve sat back and listened to what teammates have had to say about the game and so on… I wouldn’t say there’s been one person or captain that I’ve wanted to be like… My leadership style, I guess, has definitely been influenced by all the captains I’ve played under.

On learning from Taylor and Steve

I’d sit back and listen to both, listen to the voices of the group… I think that’s where one learns the most from… It’s not necessary that the captains are always right or wrong, it’s about listening to what the majority in the group feels. More than the actual captaincy, I probably learnt more about the style of cricket we needed to play… Players of my generation learnt a lot playing under Taylor, to start with.

The man management factor

I’d say captaincy is more off the field… The tactical side of leading on the field gets fine-tuned in the lead-up to matches… Nowadays, the preparation indeed is heavier… The other side of captaincy is getting to know the players away from cricket and that’s where man management comes in… If you don’t know your players away from cricket, then it can become very hard to communicate… If you can’t communicate, then you can’t get the best out of them. I’ve been captain for over six years (starting with the ODIs) and I’ve tried hard to understand the personality of every player… Once I know the player’s personality, then I know how to talk to him… Once I do that in the right way then, hopefully, I’ll be able to get the best out of him.

Whether he reads the Riot Act at the end of a rare bad day

Now and again it’s pretty healthy for the team to be told exactly what I’m thinking about the way we’re playing our cricket and the way we’re going about things. Don’t think that’s happened too often, though, probably three or four times. One such day was after the first tri-series final, at the SCC, early last month. I was pretty unhappy about the way we’d played and I let that be known… Sometimes, you do need to give an individual a kick up his backside… When you do that, you also need others to know why that was done… So, you need to nurture them a bit more… Give them, in particular, more positive advice. I’m sure such things happen in most sporting teams… The captain or the coach lets off steam… When a few hard truths are told.

Being saddled even with personal problems of his players

I have to deal with that on most days… It could be anything… Cricketers, today, need to juggle around their time and make sure that they give the game what’s required.

The pressure of leading a team that’s always expected to win

Don’t think there’s more pressure because of the rankings… One of the strengths of our team, over the years, has been that we’ve never thought of the rankings… Being No.1 or whatever… (Adds laughing) We’re reminded of it all the time, though, more so when we’re in India… Credit to our players that we always find ways and means to get better as a team… It’s not about being happy with where we are, but constantly challenging ourselves to get better…

Whether he’s ever felt the heat of being the captain and the team’s premier batsman

This (Australian) summer, yes… But more because of all the stuff that was going on off the field… I wasn’t a part of all that, but still had to answer all the questions at press conferences… It was tough, because of the scrutiny… But, then, you’re put in a position because people believe you’re good enough to handle its demands… That you’re the right person… Thankfully, all that is behind us and we’re ready for fresh challenges.

Failed Ashes campaign in 2005

Then, I was under more pressure on the field… We didn’t play the brand of cricket that was needed to win and, so, lost.

Coping with setbacks

I try and not think about things too much… Generally, regardless of what happens, I stay quite level headed… Let’s say I stay neutral… Try and forget about the issues and try and refresh my mind… That’s important.

Whether captains have a shelf life

Don’t think so… I don’t see why captains need to be any different from batters and bowlers who can go on playing for an X number of years… Of course, you need to give time to yourself… Once in a while, you need to get away from cricket.

Having different captains for Tests and ODIs

We handled it very well, when Steve was the one-day captain and Taylor led in Test cricket… Also, when I got the captaincy in ODIs and Steve continued to lead in Tests… But I really don’t know whether that’s the ideal situation… Much, I suppose, depends on the maturity of the individuals…

Most enjoyable moments as captain

When we won back the Ashes last season and the two World Cups won under my captaincy, in 2003 and 2007… We played unbelievable cricket right through the 2006-07 Ashes… As for the World Cups, we went through both undefeated… Any captain and any team would be proud of such an achievement… We worked hard and got the rewards…

Whether captaincy has taught a few things

(Grins) You’re learning and growing every day… If you’re not, then you’re wasting your time… My approach has been to go out there and try and make myself better every day… One does make mistakes, both as a batsman and as a captain, but one has to learn from them… I’m a pretty simple type of a person and like to keep things simple.

Idea of a good captain

Look, you could see a captain having a chat with his bowler and there could be a wicket in that over… That could look as a great piece of captaincy, but you never get to know what that chat had been all about… I mean, that wicket could have come in a totally different way from what had been planned! It’s tough enough making judgements on players, tougher to judge captains… But, yes, good captains need to have good skills of communication and they should be able to lead from the front… If you’re talking about the players and the team having to behave in a particular way, then you’ve got to show the way yourself. I haven’t got it right every single day, but one learns… What I can say is that I’ve tried to set high standards.

A contemporary captain whom he has admired

I liked Stephen Fleming… He made New Zealand into a pretty competitive team… The bottomline is that a captain is only as good as his players… If, for example, your bowlers don’t bowl in the right areas then you could actually end up looking quite a silly captain.

On Anil Kumble and Mahendra Singh Dhoni as captains

I haven’t analysed their captaincy, but both have done a good job… I find Dhoni’s comfortable with the captaincy and handles the media well… Anil surely has to be given credit for the Indians being so competitive in the recent Test series.

Whether the profile of a coach matters

The captain and the coach need to have a great relationship… Having said that, the captain of a cricket team becomes a coach too on the field… He’s the one who makes the moves… Adapts to situations… So, in that way, there’s a lot more responsibility on the shoulders of a cricket captain… A coach, I think, must clearly understand what certain guys need and what certain guys don’t need… The training has to be such that the players peak at the right time… That the intensity remains high… (After a pause) My relationship with John (Buchanan) was very, very good… (Successor) Tim Nielsen’s appointment has been terrific… Tim does a few things little differently from John, but that’s to be expected… There was continuity when Steve succeeded Taylor and when I succeeded Steve, but there was a difference too.

Finally, his message for rookie captains

Spend time with your teammates off the field… Perhaps, show some compassion… In every sport and team there’ll be a group that will naturally get along better with some other group… It’s important to recognise them not as groups but as part of a team… If such an environment is missing, then it will be hard to get the best out of the players…