Gambling nature helps Warne to be a successful captain

It is Shane Warne's luck that helps him wriggle successfully out of tight situations

Gambling nature helps Warne to be a successful captain

It is Shane Warne's luck that helps him wriggle successfully out of tight situations

Benaud made his assessment before T20 came into vogue, so does a captain require a higher percentage of luck in cricket's shortened form?

Luck is a strange bedfellow; if you dwell on the bad variety it can haunt and if you don't rely on the good version it can be a friend. It's generally true that fortune favours the brave and that's why a skipper like Shane Warne seems to successfully wriggle out of most tight situations. Warne tends to look for wickets if he's on the field rather than go the containment route and that's one reason why good things tend to happen to his team.

Where the luck comes in is having the right bowlers and the fielders to hang on to the catches. However, even here a good captain can help himself by having a working relationship with the selectors and ensuring he gets the players he wants. And the smart captain will also try wherever possible to have the fieldsman best suited for the situation in place for the crucial catch.

Another attribute Warne possesses that makes him a good, as well as a lucky captain, is his gambling nature.

In his life after cricket, Warne has embraced the world poker circuit and he'll probably do well because he doesn't fear failure. On the other hand, he dislikes failure and as captain he tries to avoid it and this helps instill confidence in his players. After a while they believe he'll produce miracles and in this frame of mind most players perform above themselves.

Warne also contributes to his own luck by empowering his players. He spends time with them off the field travelling to Swapnil Asnodkar's home to meet his family for instance and he lets them know he wants them in his side. Imbued with confidence this usually results in players giving that little bit extra when the team needs it most.u00a0

The lesser captains probably believe the old blues standard: "If it weren't for bad luck I'd have had no luck at all."

The successful captains tend not to pay much heed to luck and probably enjoy about ten per cent of the good fortune on offer; the requisite amount to win regularly in any form of the game.

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