Great captains, whether batters or bowlers lead by an example and inspire the team to triumph against all odds. Their job is not to purely play excellently; but perform like the guiding light of a team and show the way to collective excellence.
Several Test captains, whethether from the Trans-Tasman region or from the sub-continent etched their name in glory in defying odds and collecting whirlwind numbers that still generate awe. The reason? Because they were that good for their team as the cult figure of leadership.
Let us look at some prominent names from Test match cricket who have claimed most wickets as captains:
Most Test Wickets as Captain
Pat Cummins - Australia
For someone who's not even played 70 Test matches as yet, and still gone beyond the whirlwind and incredible wicket tally of 300 wickets (on the whole), Cummins is a growing legend in the sport, and truth be told, it's hard to imagine the current Australian line-up without the man who shows them the way.
A dangerous player with the bat too, Cummins' real success, it must be said, lies with the red ball.
At present he has 139 test wickets from just 35 games as captain.
He recently ended up on the wrong side of the result in the World Test Championship final against the Proteas but led his team valiantly and tried to persevere against the big odds that South Africa contested with.
Cummins' bowling average as captain is just a little over 22, which is incredible.
Imran Khan - Pakistan
A talismanic all rounder and still widely considered among the best players ever from Pakistan, Imran Khan was a clutch player, as how many contemporary analysts or fans of the game who believing in dashing adorations, would describe him. On the whole, he was an unabashed leader of his side who claimed 187 wickets from just 48 contests for Pakistan at an average of 20. Just 20. Let that sink in.
Richie Benaud - Australia
We still miss his august presence in the commentary box, don't we? And all of us, as a matter of fact. It's one thing to be a great cricketer and something quite different to be respected by one and all- isn't it?
That is why Benaud, a classic all rounder, who hit north of 2200 Test runs with 3 tons, in addition to his 248 Test scalps, stood out.
He was so good with both distinct skills with the bat and earned his stripes with pure passion and a commitment to excellence.
Benaud, who's considered an Ashes hero, claimed 138 wickets from just 28 Tests as captain, teaching the team back in the late fifties and sixties how to conquer mighthy Australian opponents.
Even in his last-ever Test match, which came against the Proteas, Benaud claimed 4 wickets.
Sir Garry Sobers - West Indies
There've been cricketers, there've been remarkable cricketers and then, there stand the icons. Just a few of them. If Sir Viv Richards and Brian Lara as batting icons, then all round icons of the game cannot get better than the inimitable Sir Gafield Sobers, who claimed from 39 Tests as captain, 117 wickets.
His strictly medium pace offered batters much variety and bounce and even movement on occasions to contend with.
Such a remarkable athlete, who once hit 6 consecutive sixes in a game, can only be called a generational talent.
Daniel Vettori - New Zealand
He was considered one of the finest talents to ever represent the New Zealand side and a cricketer-par-excellence; someone who was gentle as he was talismanic. So incredible was Vettori as a left-arm spinner that we tend to almost forget that besides his highly-respected wicket tally of 362 scalps from 113 Tests for New Zealand, Vettori also struck north of 4500 runs for his country, which includes 6 centuries.
How about now considering him one among the greatest Test all rounders from his country?
As captain, Vettori was considerably good claiming 116 wickets from just 32 games. His average was 33, pretty decent, would you reckon?
