Handling Pressure Main Task Before Captains

The coaches might have their say at the team meetings but on the field it is the decision of the captains that will be either hailed or lambasted. Some of them will be under more pressure than others...

- Partab Ramchand

A captain is only as good as his team goes a cricketing cliché. But the really good captain can inspire his team to play above their potential and the result could well be a great triumph. Kapil Dev and the Indian team that won the World Cup in 1983 is a prime example of this. There were better sides in the competition but leading from the front and goading his side on had the desired result.

Such thoughts come to mind on the eve of the World Cup and while the focus will be on the teams the captaincy too will come under scrutiny. The coaches might have their say at the team meetings but on the field, it is the decision of the captains that will be either hailed or lambasted. Some of them will be under more pressure than others. For example, as captain of the home team and favourites, Eoin Morgan will be under intense scrutiny. But the affable Dublin-born Morgan is unlikely to be affected by all the attention. He does his job cooly and methodically and even if he has a fine team that is enjoying a glorious run he deserves credit for molding the players into a formidable unit.