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The Captains

Ricky Ponting: One of the best one downers in world cricket today. Ponting has the ability to send spectators roaring with delight with his brilliant strokeplay.

With an eye capable of spotting the ball much quicker than most other batsmen, Ponting gets into position quickly to sweetly time his strokes and send the ball in a flash to the boundary.

He has become a heavy scoring batsman in both versions of the game because of his ability to play straight. Once on top of an attack there is no stopping him.

From the time he stepped into the captaincy shoes taking over from Stephen Waugh, he has raised his game very quickly and with a lot more years of cricket ahead of him should rank with the best captains that the kangaroos have produced. He was lucky to play under Waugh, watch and learn from him. Waugh had the tendency to get the best out of the team by example.

Ponting seems to be following in his footsteps and the whole Aussie team is behind him in every move he makes.

He has gone on record as saying that it was his dream to captain the green caps.

He has now got the opportunity, performed the captains job to a nicety and he would like to cap it all by leading the Aussies to retain the World Cup won by Stephen Waugh in England the last time.

He has a set of wonderful and skilful cricketers under him and when World Cup time comes around in South Africa early next year, he would have fine tuned his men in readiness for the big occasion.

Sanath Jayasuriya: Sri Lanka's best ever captain in both versions of the game. From the time he walked into the national team, after a dream run playing for the 'A' team, Jayasuriya has not looked back since and has been scoring heavily in the Tests as well as the one-day game.

A punishing batsman, with a quick eye he has tremendous power in his strokes and has been severe on all bowlers who came up against him.

He had a wonderful run in the 1996 World Cup where he tore into opposing attacks and gave a new concept to the one-day game partnered by the dashing Romesh Kaluwaitharane.

Their ability to tear into opposing attacks in the first 15 overs and near the 100 run mark had many a side non plussed. His remarkable run in that World Cup earned for him the 'Most Valuable Player' award and went in a big way to help Sri Lanka win the World Cup and put Sri Lanka cricket on the World map. At the start of his career Jayasuriya was labelled a one-day basher.

But once allowed into the longer duration of the game, he grabbed it with both hands to run up big scores and his 340 against the Indians in a Test at the R. Premadasa Stadium ranks with the knocks played by the great Sir Donald Bradman, Wally Hammond, Brian Lara, Graham Gooch, Bob Cowper, Mark Taylor and several others who have gone past the magical 300 run mark. As a captain he has blossomed out as the best produced by the country .

As an opener he starts nervously. But once he has a good look at the bowling strokes cascade from his bat with grace and power and the ball sails more often over the boundary for six.   [Back]

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