5 players with the shortest career as an International captain

Leading the team at a higher level is something most of the cricketers have a dream of. Captaining the national team becomes pride and responsibility for the player in charge irrespective of the number of opportunities he will see for that role. Some players get a chance to lead in a couple of matches, some of them get to lead in excess of 100 matches and a few who even went as far as winning matches in hundreds. In this article, we look at five captains in International cricket whose taste of International captaincy lasted in a countable span.

Here we look at the top five players with the shortest captaincy career in International cricket:

5. Justin Ontong – 234 balls

Justin Ontong had a marathon professional career that lasted about 20 years. However, he couldn’t replicate his success of domestic cricket at International level as he featured in only 44 matches for South Africa. Ontong played two Tests, 28 ODI matches and 16 T20Is for the national side. Ontong’s final appearance in South African jersey came during the home T20I series against West Indies. Skipper Faf du Plessis was rested for the last match of the 3-match series in Durban as they were 0-2 down.

Ontong was asked to lead the team as he was the most experienced player in the squad. Morne van Wyk’s unbeaten 114 powered South Africa to 195/3 and West Indies, in reply, were bowled out for only 126 in 19 overs. Justin didn’t get a chance to bat or bowl but did claim three catches on the field. That game saw an end to his 14-year International career and a captaincy career which lasted only 234 balls i.e. 39 overs; the five shortest of all time.

4. Thilina Kandamby – 224 balls

Captaining Sri Lanka didn’t look like an achievement in recent times, especially in 2017. Repeated losses witnessed the Sri Lankan selectors rotate captains almost every series and tour that year after Angelo Mathews resigned from the role. Thilina Kandamby, only featured in 44 Internationals, also got a chance to lead the Lankans but during their glorious days which featured the likes of Mahela Jayawardene, Sanath Jayasuriya, Kumar Sangakkara and Lasith Malinga.

Kandamby got chance to lead Sri Lanka in the one-off T20I game on their tour of England after the 2011 World Cup. The home team was restricted to only 136/9, a total that was chased down by the Lankans with ease. Jayawardene (72* off 57) and Sangakkara (43* off 39) shared an unbeaten 97-run stand to guide the visitors to a 9-wicket win with 16 balls to spare. Jayasuriya was the only batsman to be dismissed in the chase. Sanath never played a T20I after this and featured in only one ODI match after it.

In fact, this T20I hosted by Bristol was also turned out to be the last appearance for Kandamby in this format. He played ODIs until 2014 and his professional career didn’t move past 2016 even though he was only 33-year-old at that time. Thilina didn’t lead Sri Lanka in an International match after this T20I which meant that his captaincy career spanned only 224 deliveries. Kandamby managed to take only one catch through his International captaincy that lasted approximately two and a half hours.

3. James Taylor – 108 balls

Every time James Taylor’s name is discussed in cricketing terms, his unfortunate exit from the sport comes to the mind. A rare heart disease put an end to the career of the England batsman in 2016 when he was only 26 and becoming a regular in the national side. However, the Nottingham-born is serving as the national selector of England team and tasted World Cup victory in that role. Taylor’s unfortunate finishes in cricket began in 2015 itself as his captaincy debut was spoiled by rain.

James Taylor was handed over the captaincy of England team for the one-off ODI match against Ireland in Dublin ahead of the 2015 home season. The England team were then aiming for a revamp in their ODI setup following a disastrous exit in the 2015 World Cup. With Eoin Morgan staying away from this game, Taylor got a chance to lead England for the first time. The right-handed batter invited the hosts to bat first after winning the toss. The Irish team were pushed to 56/4 in 18 overs before the rain interval.

The rain never stopped causing huge puddles on the outfield and the match came to an end without a result. It was the only time James Taylor got a chance to lead England through his 5-year International career. He never got a chance to bat, bowl or even pick a catch or affect a runout through the match. This meant Taylor’s captaincy career lasted only 108 deliveries (18 overs) which is the 3rd shortest one in the history of International cricket.

2. Umar Bhatti – 103 balls

Umar Bhatti’s journey in cricket was a fascinating one as he was born in Pakistan’s Lahore before moving to Canada and representing their national team. Bhatti led the Canada team in the 2004 Under-19s World Cup where his team was on the losing side in all the six matches. He made his ODI debut at the age of 22 and his T20I debut in 2008 against Pakistan, the country where he was born.

Umar represented Canada national side in 36 ODI matches and seven T20Is. The left-arm pacer had to wait for a while to become the skipper of Canada senior team having led them during the junior-level tournament. He got a chance to lead Canada in the 2nd ODI match of the 2009 series against Kenya. Canada held a 1-0 lead as they won the first ODI of the series comfortably.

Kenya invited the hosts Canada to bat first whom they level struggling at 14/3. An unbeaten 49-run partnership seemed to have helped Canada team before rain washed off the match without a result. This match was a replay on reserve day of the abandoned 2nd ODI match. Thus, Umar Bhatti’s career as a captain could sustain only 17.1 overs i.e. 103 balls during the 77 minutes of play possible in the match.

1. James Tredwell – 2 balls

New Zealand lost the 2-match Test series during their tour of England in 2013 by big margins but bounced back strongly in the limited-overs. They won the 3-match ODI series by 2-1 margin just before the Champions Trophy. A 2-match T20I series between the two sides was held soon after the tournament. The Kiwis won the first game of the series by mere 5 runs in a high-scoring thriller. The last game of the tour was hosted by The Oval and the Blackcaps wanted to sign off with a win.

The New Zealand team got a heavy boost with the home team skipper Eoin Morgan being ruled out of the game due to a hand injury. In Morgan’s absence, James Tredwell was assigned the duty of leading the team. The off-spinner never led the national team at the International level. Brendon McCullum sent the English team into bat after winning the toss. Michael Lumb picked a couple on the first ball of the game bowled by Mitchell McClenaghan.

The left-arm pacer got Lumb edge into the hands of McCullum at 2nd slip and the home team lost a wicket early on. Kevin Pietersen came to bat at No.3 in his first appearance in a while after creating a controversy that year. The rain made an intervention at the same time which also put an end to the match. Tredwell never got a chance to lead England again and hence his captaincy came to an end with only two balls being bowled; the shortest captaincy career for anyone.

(Note: All the numbers are from Men’s cricket and the numbers of associate nations are ignored)