::cry_smile: Players who had the most captains, those who had captains change most frequently, and vice versa
Who is the best Test captain you played under? If you asked Michael Hussey that, he'd probably shoot you a silly-question look and say, "Mate, I've only ever played under Punter." Put the same question to Mushtaq Ahmed and Mushie might mull over it for a few moments, while scratching his beard, before picking Imran Khan out of a dozen captains. Pakistan went through 12 different leaders during Mushtaq's 52-Test career, a new one every 4.33 matches on average. Australia have had only Ricky Ponting during Hussey's 50 Tests. So this week, we've dug up lists of players who played under the most captains, those who had captains change most frequently, and vice versa.
The only player to have had more captains than Mushtaq is England's Frank Woolley, who served under 14 during his 64-Test career between 1909 and 1934. His first was Archie MacLaren, under whom he played only one Test, and his last was Bob Wyatt. Woolley played the most Tests under Johnny Douglas - 18.
Most captains played under (per team) - Tests
Player Span Mat Captains Mat/Captains
FE Woolley (Eng) 1909-1934 64 14 4.57
AC MacLaren, HDG Leveson Gower, FL Fane, CB Fry, JWHT Douglas, Hon.LH Tennyson, FT Mann, AER Gilligan, JC White, AW Carr, AHH Gilligan, APF Chapman, DR Jardine, RES Wyatt
Mushtaq Ahmed (Pak) 1990-2003 52 12 4.33
Imran Khan, Javed Miandad, Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis, Saleem Malik, Rameez Raja, Saeed Anwar, Aamer Sohail, Rashid Latif, Moin Khan, Mohammad Yousuf, Inzamam-ul-Haq
JB Hobbs (Eng) 1908-1930 61 12 5.08
AO Jones, AC MacLaren, HDG Leveson Gower, FL Fane, CB Fry, JWHT Douglas, Hon.LH Tennyson, AER Gilligan, AW Carr, APF Chapman, JC White, RES Wyatt
W Rhodes (Eng) 1899-1930 58 11 5.27
WG Grace, AC MacLaren, PF Warner, Hon.FS Jackson, AO Jones, HDG Leveson Gower, FL Fane, CB Fry, JWHT Douglas, APF Chapman, Hon.FSG Calthorpe
PR Umrigar (India) 1948-1962 59 11 5.36
VS Hazare, L Amarnath, MH Mankad, PR Umrigar, Ghulam Ahmed, HR Adhikari, P Roy, DK Gaekwad, GS Ramchand, NJ Contractor, MAK Pataudi
Moin Khan (Pak) 1990-2004 69 11 6.27
Imran Khan, Javed Miandad, Saleem Malik, Rameez Raja, Wasim Akram, Saeed Anwar, Rashid Latif, Aamer Sohail, Moin Khan, Mohammad Yousuf, Inzamam-ul-Haq
TW Graveney (Eng) 1951-1969 79 11 7.18
FR Brown, ND Howard, DB Carr, Rev.DS Sheppard, L Hutton, PBH May, ER Dexter, DB Close, TW Graveney, MC Cowdrey, R Illingworth
MW Gatting (Eng) 1978-1995 79 11 7.18
G Boycott, IT Botham, JM Brearley, KWR Fletcher, RGD Willis, MW Gatting, JE Emburey, DI Gower, GA Gooch, AJ Stewart, MA Atherton
WR Hammond (Eng) 1927-1947 85 11 7.72
RT Stanyforth, GTS Stevens, APF Chapman, JC White, AW Carr, DR Jardine, CF Walters, RES Wyatt, GOB Allen, RWV Robins, WR Hammond
DL Underwood (Eng) 1966-1982 86 11 7.81
MC Cowdrey, DB Close, TW Graveney, R Illingworth, AR Lewis, JH Edrich, MH Denness, AW Greig, JM Brearley, IT Botham, KWR Fletcher
Waqar Younis (Pak) 1989-2003 87 11 7.90
Javed Miandad, Imran Khan, Waqar Younis, Saleem Malik, Rameez Raja, Wasim Akram, Aamer Sohail, Rashid Latif, Saeed Anwar, Moin Khan, Inzamam-ul-Haq
GA Gooch (Eng) 1975-1995 118 11 10.72
MH Denness, AW Greig, JM Brearley, IT Botham, KWR Fletcher, DI Gower, MW Gatting, JE Emburey, CS Cowdrey, GA Gooch, MA Atherton
Inzamam-ul-Haq (Pak) 1992-2007 119 11 10.81
Javed Miandad, Saleem Malik, Saeed Anwar, Rameez Raja, Wasim Akram, Rashid Latif, Aamer Sohail, Moin Khan, Waqar Younis, Inzamam-ul-Haq, Shoaib Malik
S Chanderpaul (WI) 1994-2009 123 11 11.18
CA Walsh, RB Richardson, JC Adams, CL Hooper, RD Jacobs, BC Lara, S Chanderpaul, RR Sarwan, D Ganga, DJ Bravo, CH Gayle
George Headley played only 22 Tests between 1930 and 1954 - his career was interrupted by the Second World War - but he had nine captains, a new one every 2.44 matches on average: the lowest ratio for any player with at least 20 caps. The custom in the West Indies around the start of Headley's career was to appoint a different captain in each match, usually from the place in which the game was to be played. So Headley played only a Test each under all his captains (including himself), apart from the Grant brothers. He played 12 under Jackie Grant, and three under Rolph.
Shahid Afridi has had eight captains, from Aamer Sohail in 1998 to Younis Khan in 2006, during his 26-Test career. So when he leads Pakistan during the Tests in England this summer, it will be the ninth different captaincy in his 27 matches - each one lasting only three Tests on average.
Smallest ratio of matches played to different captains - Tests (qualification: 20 matches)
Player Span Mat Captains Mat/Captains
GA Headley (WI) 1930-1954 22 9 2.44
ELG Hoad, N Betancourt, MP Fernandes, RK Nunes, GC Grant, RS Grant, GA Headley, JDC Goddard, JB Stollmeyer
G Ulyett (Eng) 1877-1890 25 10 2.50
James Lillywhite jnr, A Shaw, AN Hornby, Lord Harris, A Shrewsbury, AG Steel, WW Read, CA Smith, MP Bowden, WG Grace
A Shrewsbury (Eng) 1881-1893 23 8 2.87
A Shaw, AN Hornby, Lord Harris, AG Steel, A Shrewsbury, WW Read, WG Grace, AE Stoddart
NS Tamhane (India) 1955-1961 21 7 3.00
MH Mankad, Ghulam Ahmed, PR Umrigar, HR Adhikari, DK Gaekwad, GS Ramchand, NJ Contractor
Shahid Afridi (Pak) 1998-2006 26 8 3.25
Aamer Sohail, Wasim Akram, Saeed Anwar, Moin Khan, Waqar Younis, Mohammad Yousuf, Younis Khan, Inzamam-ul-Haq
CJ Barnett (Eng) 1933-1948 20 6 3.33
RES Wyatt, DR Jardine, GOB Allen, RWV Robins, WR Hammond, NWD Yardley
W Barnes (Eng) 1880-1890 21 6 3.50
Hon.IFW Bligh, AN Hornby, Lord Harris, A Shrewsbury, AG Steel, WG Grace
JK Lever (Eng) 1976-1986 21 6 3.50
AW Greig, JM Brearley, G Boycott, IT Botham, KWR Fletcher, MW Gatting
TJ Franklin (NZ) 1983-1991 21 6 3.50
GP Howarth, JV Coney, JJ Crowe, JG Wright, MD Crowe, IDS Smith
Azhar Mahmood (Pak) 1997-2001 21 6 3.50
Saeed Anwar, Aamer Sohail, Rashid Latif, Wasim Akram, Moin Khan, Waqar Younis
England and Australia started playing Test cricket at the same time - 1877 - but England have had 79 captains to Australia's 42. The gap widened steadily over the decades and rapidly after 1980. In the last 30 years, Australia have had six regular captains - Greg Chappell, Kim Hughes, Allan Border, Mark Taylor, Steve Waugh and Ricky Ponting - and a seventh in Adam Gilchrist, when either Waugh or Ponting was injured. England, on the other hand, have had 20.
Waugh played a record number of Tests - 168 - under only three captains: Border, Taylor and himself. His average of 56 Tests per captain is the highest for any player. It was a pretty even split too - 65 under Border, 46 for Taylor and the rest during his own captaincy.
Largest ratio of matches played to different captains - Tests
Player Span Mat Captains Mat/Captains
SR Waugh (Aus) 1985-2004 168 3 56.00
AR Border, MA Taylor, SR Waugh
MG Hughes (Aus) 1985-1994 53 1 53.00
AR Border
MA Taylor (Aus) 1989-1999 104 2 52.00
AR Border, MA Taylor
GR Marsh (Aus) 1985-1992 50 1 50.00
AR Border
MEK Hussey (Aus) 2005-2010 50 1 50.00
RT Ponting
IVA Richards (WI) 1974-1991 121 3 40.33
DL Murray, CH Lloyd, IVA Richards
IA Healy (Aus) 1988-1999 119 3 39.66
AR Border, MA Taylor, SR Waugh
AR Border (Aus) 1978-1994 156 4 39.00
GN Yallop, GS Chappell, KJ Hughes, AR Border
MH Richardson (NZ) 2000-2004 38 1 38.00
SP Fleming
CH Lloyd (WI) 1966-1985 110 3 36.66
GS Sobers, RB Kanhai, CH Lloyd
RT Ponting (Aus) 1995-2010 144 4 36.00
MA Taylor, SR Waugh, AC Gilchrist, RT Ponting
Pakistan players from the last three decades dominate the table of cricketers with the most captains in ODIs. Afridi is No. 1 this time, having played under 14 captains during his 288-match career, an average of 21 ODIs per captain. He broke the record, previously held by Wasim Akram, when he took over the captaincy for Pakistan's Champions Trophy match against West Indies at the Wanderers in 2009.
Ian Botham had 12 captains during his 116-ODI career, a different one every 10 matches or so, the lowest match-captain ratio in the table below. Botham played the most games under Bob Willis - 29 - and the least under Alan Knott, Tony Greig and John Emburey - one match each.
Most captains played under (per team) - ODIs
Player Span Mat Captains Mat/Captains
Shahid Afridi (Pak) 1996-2010 288 14 20.57
Rameez Raja, Saeed Anwar, Rashid Latif, Aamer Sohail, Wasim Akram, Moin Khan, Waqar Younis, Inzamam-ul-Haq, Abdul Razzaq, Shoaib Malik, Misbah-ul-Haq, Younis Khan, Mohammad Yousuf, Shahid Afridi
Wasim Akram (Pak) 1984-2003 356 13 27.38
Zaheer Abbas, Javed Miandad, Abdul Qadir, Imran Khan, Rameez Raja, Saleem Malik, Wasim Akram, Rashid Latif, Aamer Sohail, Saeed Anwar, Moin Khan, Waqar Younis, Inzamam-ul-Haq
IT Botham (Eng) 1976-1992 116 12 9.66
APE Knott, AW Greig, G Boycott, JM Brearley, IT Botham, KWR Fletcher, RGD Willis, MW Gatting, JE Emburey, DI Gower, AJ Stewart, GA Gooch
Abdul Razzaq (Pak) 1996-2009 233 12 19.41
Rameez Raja, Aamer Sohail, Wasim Akram, Saeed Anwar, Moin Khan, Waqar Younis, Rashid Latif, Mohammad Yousuf, Younis Khan, Inzamam-ul-Haq, Abdul Razzaq, Shoaib Malik
Mohammad Yousuf (Pak) 1998-2010 275 12 22.91
Aamer Sohail, Wasim Akram, Saeed Anwar, Moin Khan, Waqar Younis, Rashid Latif, Inzamam-ul-Haq, Mohammad Yousuf, Younis Khan, Shoaib Malik, Misbah-ul-Haq, Shahid Afridi
GA Gooch (Eng) 1976-1995 125 11 11.36
APE Knott, AW Greig, JM Brearley, IT Botham, KWR Fletcher, JE Emburey, MW Gatting, DI Gower, GA Gooch, AJ Stewart, MA Atherton
DB Vengsarkar (India) 1976-1991 129 11 11.72
BS Bedi, S Venkataraghavan, SM Gavaskar, GR Viswanath, N Kapil Dev, SMH Kirmani, M Amarnath, DB Vengsarkar, K Srikkanth, M Azharuddin, RJ Shastri
Mushtaq Ahmed (Pak) 1989-2003 144 11 13.09
Javed Miandad, Imran Khan, Waqar Younis, Saleem Malik, Rameez Raja, Aamer Sohail, Wasim Akram, Saeed Anwar, Rashid Latif, Moin Khan, Inzamam-ul-Haq
Moin Khan (Pak) 1990-2004 219 11 19.90
Imran Khan, Javed Miandad, Saleem Malik, Rameez Raja, Saeed Anwar, Aamer Sohail, Rashid Latif, Wasim Akram, Moin Khan, Mohammad Yousuf, Inzamam-ul-Haq
Ijaz Ahmed (Pak) 1986-2000 250 11 22.72
Imran Khan, Abdul Qadir, Javed Miandad, Saleem Malik, Wasim Akram, Rameez Raja, Saeed Anwar, Rashid Latif, Aamer Sohail, Waqar Younis, Moin Khan
S Chanderpaul (WI) 1994-2010 260 11 23.63
RB Richardson, CA Walsh, BC Lara, JC Adams, CL Hooper, RD Jacobs, RR Sarwan, S Chanderpaul, DJ Bravo, CH Gayle, DJG Sammy
Saleem Malik (Pak) 1982-1999 283 11 25.72
Sarfraz Nawaz, Zaheer Abbas, Abdul Qadir, Imran Khan, Javed Miandad, Waqar Younis, Saleem Malik, Aamer Sohail, Saeed Anwar, Wasim Akram, Rameez Raja
Inzamam-ul-Haq (Pak) 1991-2007 375 11 34.09
Imran Khan, Javed Miandad, Wasim Akram, Saleem Malik, Aamer Sohail, Rameez Raja, Saeed Anwar, Rashid Latif, Moin Khan, Waqar Younis, Inzamam-ul-Haq
The player whose captain changed the most frequently in ODIs, however, is John Lever. He played 22 one-dayers for England between 1976 and 1982 under seven different captains. Among current England players, Ryan Sidebottom has the lowest match-captain ratio, having had six leaders in his 25 ODIs.
Smallest ratio of matches played to different captains - ODIs (qualification: 20 matches)
Player Span Mat Captains Mat/Captains
JK Lever (Eng) 1976-1982 22 7 3.14
APE Knott, AW Greig, G Boycott, RGD Willis, JM Brearley, IT Botham, KWR Fletcher
APE Knott (Eng) 1971-1977 20 6 3.33
DB Close, R Illingworth, MH Denness, APE Knott, AW Greig, JM Brearley
AM Samad (Can) 2003-2009 27 8 3.37
JV Harris, JM Davison, GR Codrington, ZE Surkari, Qaiser Ali, S Dhaniram, A Bagai, U Bhatti
M Hendrick (Eng) 1973-1981 22 6 3.66
JH Edrich, MH Denness, APE Knott, AW Greig, JM Brearley, IT Botham
DL Underwood (Eng) 1973-1982 26 7 3.71
R Illingworth, MH Denness, JH Edrich, APE Knott, AW Greig, JM Brearley, KWR Fletcher
Majid Khan (Pak) 1973-1982 23 6 3.83
Intikhab Alam, Majid Khan, Mushtaq Mohammad, Asif Iqbal, Javed Miandad, Imran Khan
BC Hollioake (Eng) 1997-2002 20 5 4.00
MA Atherton, AJ Hollioake, AJ Stewart, ME Trescothick, N Hussain
RN Lewis (WI) 1997-2009 28 7 4.00
CA Walsh, BC Lara, CL Hooper, S Chanderpaul, CH Gayle, DJ Bravo, FL Reifer
U Bhatti (Can) 2006-2010 29 7 4.14
GR Codrington, JM Davison, S Dhaniram, ZE Surkari, Qaiser Ali, U Bhatti, A Bagai
Mohammad Wasim (Pak) 1996-2000 25 6 4.16
Wasim Akram, Rameez Raja, Saeed Anwar, Aamer Sohail, Rashid Latif, Moin Khan
RJ Sidebottom (Eng) 2001-2010 25 6 4.16
N Hussain, ME Trescothick, PD Collingwood, KP Pietersen, AJ Strauss, AN Cook
Unlike in Tests, where the Australians had the highest average number of matches for a captain, in ODIs that table is full of South Africans. South Africa had only two captains in the 188 ODIs that Hansie Cronje played - Kepler Wessels and Cronje himself. Cronje's average of 94 ODIs per captain is 13 more than that of his team-mate Jonty Rhodes.
Excluding Clive Rice, who led South Africa in their first three ODIs after readmission in 1991, they have had only two captains in the 1990s and only two more regular ones - Shaun Pollock and Graeme Smith - in the 2000s. There have been four stand-ins, though, taking the total to nine. Sri Lanka also had nine captains during this period, while Australia and India had ten, New Zealand 12, England 13, West Indies 16 and Pakistan 17.
Largest ratio of matches played to different captains - ODIs
Player Span Mat Captains Mat/Captains
WJ Cronje (SA) 1992-2000 188 2 94.00
KC Wessels, WJ Cronje
JN Rhodes (SA) 1992-2003 245 3 81.66
KC Wessels, WJ Cronje, SM Pollock
GC Smith (SA) 2002-2010 152 2 76.00
SM Pollock, GC Smith
IVA Richards (WI) 1975-1991 187 3 62.33
DL Murray, CH Lloyd, IVA Richards
Yuvraj Singh (India) 2000-2010 247 4 61.75
R Dravid, SC Ganguly, V Sehwag, MS Dhoni
G Kirsten (SA) 1993-2003 185 3 61.66
KC Wessels, WJ Cronje, SM Pollock
SM Pollock (SA) 1996-2008 294 5 58.80
WJ Cronje, SM Pollock, GC Smith, MV Boucher, JH Kallis
RT Ponting (Aus) 1995-2010 344 6 57.33
MA Taylor, IA Healy, SK Warne, SR Waugh, AC Gilchrist, RT Ponting
L Klusener (SA) 1996-2004 171 3 57.00
WJ Cronje, SM Pollock, GC Smith
R Dravid (India) 1996-2009 335 6 55.83
M Azharuddin, SR Tendulkar, A Jadeja, SC Ganguly, R Dravid, MS Dhoni
Who is the best Test captain you played under? If you asked Michael Hussey that, he'd probably shoot you a silly-question look and say, "Mate, I've only ever played under Punter." Put the same question to Mushtaq Ahmed and Mushie might mull over it for a few moments, while scratching his beard, before picking Imran Khan out of a dozen captains. Pakistan went through 12 different leaders during Mushtaq's 52-Test career, a new one every 4.33 matches on average. Australia have had only Ricky Ponting during Hussey's 50 Tests. So this week, we've dug up lists of players who played under the most captains, those who had captains change most frequently, and vice versa.
The only player to have had more captains than Mushtaq is England's Frank Woolley, who served under 14 during his 64-Test career between 1909 and 1934. His first was Archie MacLaren, under whom he played only one Test, and his last was Bob Wyatt. Woolley played the most Tests under Johnny Douglas - 18.
Most captains played under (per team) - Tests
Player Span Mat Captains Mat/Captains
FE Woolley (Eng) 1909-1934 64 14 4.57
AC MacLaren, HDG Leveson Gower, FL Fane, CB Fry, JWHT Douglas, Hon.LH Tennyson, FT Mann, AER Gilligan, JC White, AW Carr, AHH Gilligan, APF Chapman, DR Jardine, RES Wyatt
Mushtaq Ahmed (Pak) 1990-2003 52 12 4.33
Imran Khan, Javed Miandad, Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis, Saleem Malik, Rameez Raja, Saeed Anwar, Aamer Sohail, Rashid Latif, Moin Khan, Mohammad Yousuf, Inzamam-ul-Haq
JB Hobbs (Eng) 1908-1930 61 12 5.08
AO Jones, AC MacLaren, HDG Leveson Gower, FL Fane, CB Fry, JWHT Douglas, Hon.LH Tennyson, AER Gilligan, AW Carr, APF Chapman, JC White, RES Wyatt
W Rhodes (Eng) 1899-1930 58 11 5.27
WG Grace, AC MacLaren, PF Warner, Hon.FS Jackson, AO Jones, HDG Leveson Gower, FL Fane, CB Fry, JWHT Douglas, APF Chapman, Hon.FSG Calthorpe
PR Umrigar (India) 1948-1962 59 11 5.36
VS Hazare, L Amarnath, MH Mankad, PR Umrigar, Ghulam Ahmed, HR Adhikari, P Roy, DK Gaekwad, GS Ramchand, NJ Contractor, MAK Pataudi
Moin Khan (Pak) 1990-2004 69 11 6.27
Imran Khan, Javed Miandad, Saleem Malik, Rameez Raja, Wasim Akram, Saeed Anwar, Rashid Latif, Aamer Sohail, Moin Khan, Mohammad Yousuf, Inzamam-ul-Haq
TW Graveney (Eng) 1951-1969 79 11 7.18
FR Brown, ND Howard, DB Carr, Rev.DS Sheppard, L Hutton, PBH May, ER Dexter, DB Close, TW Graveney, MC Cowdrey, R Illingworth
MW Gatting (Eng) 1978-1995 79 11 7.18
G Boycott, IT Botham, JM Brearley, KWR Fletcher, RGD Willis, MW Gatting, JE Emburey, DI Gower, GA Gooch, AJ Stewart, MA Atherton
WR Hammond (Eng) 1927-1947 85 11 7.72
RT Stanyforth, GTS Stevens, APF Chapman, JC White, AW Carr, DR Jardine, CF Walters, RES Wyatt, GOB Allen, RWV Robins, WR Hammond
DL Underwood (Eng) 1966-1982 86 11 7.81
MC Cowdrey, DB Close, TW Graveney, R Illingworth, AR Lewis, JH Edrich, MH Denness, AW Greig, JM Brearley, IT Botham, KWR Fletcher
Waqar Younis (Pak) 1989-2003 87 11 7.90
Javed Miandad, Imran Khan, Waqar Younis, Saleem Malik, Rameez Raja, Wasim Akram, Aamer Sohail, Rashid Latif, Saeed Anwar, Moin Khan, Inzamam-ul-Haq
GA Gooch (Eng) 1975-1995 118 11 10.72
MH Denness, AW Greig, JM Brearley, IT Botham, KWR Fletcher, DI Gower, MW Gatting, JE Emburey, CS Cowdrey, GA Gooch, MA Atherton
Inzamam-ul-Haq (Pak) 1992-2007 119 11 10.81
Javed Miandad, Saleem Malik, Saeed Anwar, Rameez Raja, Wasim Akram, Rashid Latif, Aamer Sohail, Moin Khan, Waqar Younis, Inzamam-ul-Haq, Shoaib Malik
S Chanderpaul (WI) 1994-2009 123 11 11.18
CA Walsh, RB Richardson, JC Adams, CL Hooper, RD Jacobs, BC Lara, S Chanderpaul, RR Sarwan, D Ganga, DJ Bravo, CH Gayle
George Headley played only 22 Tests between 1930 and 1954 - his career was interrupted by the Second World War - but he had nine captains, a new one every 2.44 matches on average: the lowest ratio for any player with at least 20 caps. The custom in the West Indies around the start of Headley's career was to appoint a different captain in each match, usually from the place in which the game was to be played. So Headley played only a Test each under all his captains (including himself), apart from the Grant brothers. He played 12 under Jackie Grant, and three under Rolph.
Shahid Afridi has had eight captains, from Aamer Sohail in 1998 to Younis Khan in 2006, during his 26-Test career. So when he leads Pakistan during the Tests in England this summer, it will be the ninth different captaincy in his 27 matches - each one lasting only three Tests on average.
Smallest ratio of matches played to different captains - Tests (qualification: 20 matches)
Player Span Mat Captains Mat/Captains
GA Headley (WI) 1930-1954 22 9 2.44
ELG Hoad, N Betancourt, MP Fernandes, RK Nunes, GC Grant, RS Grant, GA Headley, JDC Goddard, JB Stollmeyer
G Ulyett (Eng) 1877-1890 25 10 2.50
James Lillywhite jnr, A Shaw, AN Hornby, Lord Harris, A Shrewsbury, AG Steel, WW Read, CA Smith, MP Bowden, WG Grace
A Shrewsbury (Eng) 1881-1893 23 8 2.87
A Shaw, AN Hornby, Lord Harris, AG Steel, A Shrewsbury, WW Read, WG Grace, AE Stoddart
NS Tamhane (India) 1955-1961 21 7 3.00
MH Mankad, Ghulam Ahmed, PR Umrigar, HR Adhikari, DK Gaekwad, GS Ramchand, NJ Contractor
Shahid Afridi (Pak) 1998-2006 26 8 3.25
Aamer Sohail, Wasim Akram, Saeed Anwar, Moin Khan, Waqar Younis, Mohammad Yousuf, Younis Khan, Inzamam-ul-Haq
CJ Barnett (Eng) 1933-1948 20 6 3.33
RES Wyatt, DR Jardine, GOB Allen, RWV Robins, WR Hammond, NWD Yardley
W Barnes (Eng) 1880-1890 21 6 3.50
Hon.IFW Bligh, AN Hornby, Lord Harris, A Shrewsbury, AG Steel, WG Grace
JK Lever (Eng) 1976-1986 21 6 3.50
AW Greig, JM Brearley, G Boycott, IT Botham, KWR Fletcher, MW Gatting
TJ Franklin (NZ) 1983-1991 21 6 3.50
GP Howarth, JV Coney, JJ Crowe, JG Wright, MD Crowe, IDS Smith
Azhar Mahmood (Pak) 1997-2001 21 6 3.50
Saeed Anwar, Aamer Sohail, Rashid Latif, Wasim Akram, Moin Khan, Waqar Younis
England and Australia started playing Test cricket at the same time - 1877 - but England have had 79 captains to Australia's 42. The gap widened steadily over the decades and rapidly after 1980. In the last 30 years, Australia have had six regular captains - Greg Chappell, Kim Hughes, Allan Border, Mark Taylor, Steve Waugh and Ricky Ponting - and a seventh in Adam Gilchrist, when either Waugh or Ponting was injured. England, on the other hand, have had 20.
Waugh played a record number of Tests - 168 - under only three captains: Border, Taylor and himself. His average of 56 Tests per captain is the highest for any player. It was a pretty even split too - 65 under Border, 46 for Taylor and the rest during his own captaincy.
Largest ratio of matches played to different captains - Tests
Player Span Mat Captains Mat/Captains
SR Waugh (Aus) 1985-2004 168 3 56.00
AR Border, MA Taylor, SR Waugh
MG Hughes (Aus) 1985-1994 53 1 53.00
AR Border
MA Taylor (Aus) 1989-1999 104 2 52.00
AR Border, MA Taylor
GR Marsh (Aus) 1985-1992 50 1 50.00
AR Border
MEK Hussey (Aus) 2005-2010 50 1 50.00
RT Ponting
IVA Richards (WI) 1974-1991 121 3 40.33
DL Murray, CH Lloyd, IVA Richards
IA Healy (Aus) 1988-1999 119 3 39.66
AR Border, MA Taylor, SR Waugh
AR Border (Aus) 1978-1994 156 4 39.00
GN Yallop, GS Chappell, KJ Hughes, AR Border
MH Richardson (NZ) 2000-2004 38 1 38.00
SP Fleming
CH Lloyd (WI) 1966-1985 110 3 36.66
GS Sobers, RB Kanhai, CH Lloyd
RT Ponting (Aus) 1995-2010 144 4 36.00
MA Taylor, SR Waugh, AC Gilchrist, RT Ponting
Pakistan players from the last three decades dominate the table of cricketers with the most captains in ODIs. Afridi is No. 1 this time, having played under 14 captains during his 288-match career, an average of 21 ODIs per captain. He broke the record, previously held by Wasim Akram, when he took over the captaincy for Pakistan's Champions Trophy match against West Indies at the Wanderers in 2009.
Ian Botham had 12 captains during his 116-ODI career, a different one every 10 matches or so, the lowest match-captain ratio in the table below. Botham played the most games under Bob Willis - 29 - and the least under Alan Knott, Tony Greig and John Emburey - one match each.
Most captains played under (per team) - ODIs
Player Span Mat Captains Mat/Captains
Shahid Afridi (Pak) 1996-2010 288 14 20.57
Rameez Raja, Saeed Anwar, Rashid Latif, Aamer Sohail, Wasim Akram, Moin Khan, Waqar Younis, Inzamam-ul-Haq, Abdul Razzaq, Shoaib Malik, Misbah-ul-Haq, Younis Khan, Mohammad Yousuf, Shahid Afridi
Wasim Akram (Pak) 1984-2003 356 13 27.38
Zaheer Abbas, Javed Miandad, Abdul Qadir, Imran Khan, Rameez Raja, Saleem Malik, Wasim Akram, Rashid Latif, Aamer Sohail, Saeed Anwar, Moin Khan, Waqar Younis, Inzamam-ul-Haq
IT Botham (Eng) 1976-1992 116 12 9.66
APE Knott, AW Greig, G Boycott, JM Brearley, IT Botham, KWR Fletcher, RGD Willis, MW Gatting, JE Emburey, DI Gower, AJ Stewart, GA Gooch
Abdul Razzaq (Pak) 1996-2009 233 12 19.41
Rameez Raja, Aamer Sohail, Wasim Akram, Saeed Anwar, Moin Khan, Waqar Younis, Rashid Latif, Mohammad Yousuf, Younis Khan, Inzamam-ul-Haq, Abdul Razzaq, Shoaib Malik
Mohammad Yousuf (Pak) 1998-2010 275 12 22.91
Aamer Sohail, Wasim Akram, Saeed Anwar, Moin Khan, Waqar Younis, Rashid Latif, Inzamam-ul-Haq, Mohammad Yousuf, Younis Khan, Shoaib Malik, Misbah-ul-Haq, Shahid Afridi
GA Gooch (Eng) 1976-1995 125 11 11.36
APE Knott, AW Greig, JM Brearley, IT Botham, KWR Fletcher, JE Emburey, MW Gatting, DI Gower, GA Gooch, AJ Stewart, MA Atherton
DB Vengsarkar (India) 1976-1991 129 11 11.72
BS Bedi, S Venkataraghavan, SM Gavaskar, GR Viswanath, N Kapil Dev, SMH Kirmani, M Amarnath, DB Vengsarkar, K Srikkanth, M Azharuddin, RJ Shastri
Mushtaq Ahmed (Pak) 1989-2003 144 11 13.09
Javed Miandad, Imran Khan, Waqar Younis, Saleem Malik, Rameez Raja, Aamer Sohail, Wasim Akram, Saeed Anwar, Rashid Latif, Moin Khan, Inzamam-ul-Haq
Moin Khan (Pak) 1990-2004 219 11 19.90
Imran Khan, Javed Miandad, Saleem Malik, Rameez Raja, Saeed Anwar, Aamer Sohail, Rashid Latif, Wasim Akram, Moin Khan, Mohammad Yousuf, Inzamam-ul-Haq
Ijaz Ahmed (Pak) 1986-2000 250 11 22.72
Imran Khan, Abdul Qadir, Javed Miandad, Saleem Malik, Wasim Akram, Rameez Raja, Saeed Anwar, Rashid Latif, Aamer Sohail, Waqar Younis, Moin Khan
S Chanderpaul (WI) 1994-2010 260 11 23.63
RB Richardson, CA Walsh, BC Lara, JC Adams, CL Hooper, RD Jacobs, RR Sarwan, S Chanderpaul, DJ Bravo, CH Gayle, DJG Sammy
Saleem Malik (Pak) 1982-1999 283 11 25.72
Sarfraz Nawaz, Zaheer Abbas, Abdul Qadir, Imran Khan, Javed Miandad, Waqar Younis, Saleem Malik, Aamer Sohail, Saeed Anwar, Wasim Akram, Rameez Raja
Inzamam-ul-Haq (Pak) 1991-2007 375 11 34.09
Imran Khan, Javed Miandad, Wasim Akram, Saleem Malik, Aamer Sohail, Rameez Raja, Saeed Anwar, Rashid Latif, Moin Khan, Waqar Younis, Inzamam-ul-Haq
The player whose captain changed the most frequently in ODIs, however, is John Lever. He played 22 one-dayers for England between 1976 and 1982 under seven different captains. Among current England players, Ryan Sidebottom has the lowest match-captain ratio, having had six leaders in his 25 ODIs.
Smallest ratio of matches played to different captains - ODIs (qualification: 20 matches)
Player Span Mat Captains Mat/Captains
JK Lever (Eng) 1976-1982 22 7 3.14
APE Knott, AW Greig, G Boycott, RGD Willis, JM Brearley, IT Botham, KWR Fletcher
APE Knott (Eng) 1971-1977 20 6 3.33
DB Close, R Illingworth, MH Denness, APE Knott, AW Greig, JM Brearley
AM Samad (Can) 2003-2009 27 8 3.37
JV Harris, JM Davison, GR Codrington, ZE Surkari, Qaiser Ali, S Dhaniram, A Bagai, U Bhatti
M Hendrick (Eng) 1973-1981 22 6 3.66
JH Edrich, MH Denness, APE Knott, AW Greig, JM Brearley, IT Botham
DL Underwood (Eng) 1973-1982 26 7 3.71
R Illingworth, MH Denness, JH Edrich, APE Knott, AW Greig, JM Brearley, KWR Fletcher
Majid Khan (Pak) 1973-1982 23 6 3.83
Intikhab Alam, Majid Khan, Mushtaq Mohammad, Asif Iqbal, Javed Miandad, Imran Khan
BC Hollioake (Eng) 1997-2002 20 5 4.00
MA Atherton, AJ Hollioake, AJ Stewart, ME Trescothick, N Hussain
RN Lewis (WI) 1997-2009 28 7 4.00
CA Walsh, BC Lara, CL Hooper, S Chanderpaul, CH Gayle, DJ Bravo, FL Reifer
U Bhatti (Can) 2006-2010 29 7 4.14
GR Codrington, JM Davison, S Dhaniram, ZE Surkari, Qaiser Ali, U Bhatti, A Bagai
Mohammad Wasim (Pak) 1996-2000 25 6 4.16
Wasim Akram, Rameez Raja, Saeed Anwar, Aamer Sohail, Rashid Latif, Moin Khan
RJ Sidebottom (Eng) 2001-2010 25 6 4.16
N Hussain, ME Trescothick, PD Collingwood, KP Pietersen, AJ Strauss, AN Cook
Unlike in Tests, where the Australians had the highest average number of matches for a captain, in ODIs that table is full of South Africans. South Africa had only two captains in the 188 ODIs that Hansie Cronje played - Kepler Wessels and Cronje himself. Cronje's average of 94 ODIs per captain is 13 more than that of his team-mate Jonty Rhodes.
Excluding Clive Rice, who led South Africa in their first three ODIs after readmission in 1991, they have had only two captains in the 1990s and only two more regular ones - Shaun Pollock and Graeme Smith - in the 2000s. There have been four stand-ins, though, taking the total to nine. Sri Lanka also had nine captains during this period, while Australia and India had ten, New Zealand 12, England 13, West Indies 16 and Pakistan 17.
Largest ratio of matches played to different captains - ODIs
Player Span Mat Captains Mat/Captains
WJ Cronje (SA) 1992-2000 188 2 94.00
KC Wessels, WJ Cronje
JN Rhodes (SA) 1992-2003 245 3 81.66
KC Wessels, WJ Cronje, SM Pollock
GC Smith (SA) 2002-2010 152 2 76.00
SM Pollock, GC Smith
IVA Richards (WI) 1975-1991 187 3 62.33
DL Murray, CH Lloyd, IVA Richards
Yuvraj Singh (India) 2000-2010 247 4 61.75
R Dravid, SC Ganguly, V Sehwag, MS Dhoni
G Kirsten (SA) 1993-2003 185 3 61.66
KC Wessels, WJ Cronje, SM Pollock
SM Pollock (SA) 1996-2008 294 5 58.80
WJ Cronje, SM Pollock, GC Smith, MV Boucher, JH Kallis
RT Ponting (Aus) 1995-2010 344 6 57.33
MA Taylor, IA Healy, SK Warne, SR Waugh, AC Gilchrist, RT Ponting
L Klusener (SA) 1996-2004 171 3 57.00
WJ Cronje, SM Pollock, GC Smith
R Dravid (India) 1996-2009 335 6 55.83
M Azharuddin, SR Tendulkar, A Jadeja, SC Ganguly, R Dravid, MS Dhoni