Tuesday, January 8, 2002 Captaincy is a doddle these days. Super slo-mo video footage of any batsman anywhere has replaced word of mouth as a research tool. Graphic piecharts, detailing an opposing bowler's economy rate when chugging into the wind on sunny days with more than a dozen seagulls in attendance, are a thumbstroke away. None of this, though, is any substitute for Rule 1 of that mythical leadership guidebook How To Win Tests And Influence Team-mates: a captain must lead by example. And South Africa's unforeseen humiliation in this series can be summed up, more or less, in five words of earthy Australianese – Shaun Pollock did bugger all.

Neutralise the captain, pulverise the team is a tactic as ancient as crossbat hitting and overarm bowling. But it has gained fresh currency since Steve Waugh's ascendancy, a time when the start of an Australian summer is heralded by the sound of Glenn McGrath anointing his latest bunny.

Discounting Waugh's fledgling first series in charge against West Indies in 1998-99, consider the fate of each captain who has come up against Australia in the post-Taylor era: Sanath Jayasuriya (57 runs at 14), Alistair Campbell (6 runs at 3), Wasim Akram (5 wickets at 55), Sachin Tendulkar (278 runs at 46), Stephen Fleming (137 runs at 22), Jimmy Adams (151 runs at 18), Sourav Ganguly (106 runs at 17), Nasser Hussain (177 runs at 35), Michael Atherton (108 runs at 27). All but Hussain have fared below par; a couple have plumbed career-threatening depths.

The strategy is usually widened to embrace the opposition's leading bowler and batsman: Michael Slater's solitary contribution to last year's Ashes victory was to knock the puff out of Darren Gough in the opening over of the series; Brett Lee's was to knock the stuffing out of Graham Thorpe during a hostile spell at Lord's. Fleming broke the captain's curse with his manful efforts earlier this summer, but it is not overstating the case to say that the silencing of Pollock – cherished leader, master bowler, danger batsman - is the crowning triumph of the Australian way. The biggest fish has been fried.

With the bat, Pollock scored 128 runs in the three Tests at 32 – fractionally better than his career rate but disappointing by his recent standards. With the ball, he took eight wickets at 39 – almost twice as expensive as his career average before the series of 20.14. Wickets were hard to come by, runs dealt out freely: his career strike rate of a wicket every 53 deliveries slipped to one every 84; his economy rate of 2.26 runs an over rose to 2.78.

The general consensus on the eve of the series was that Pollock is definitely the world's most complete allrounder, probably the world's greatest player. Any team would be banking on such a man performing to his optimum capability. But when he happens to be captain of a South African side composed of a couple of has-beens, numerous greenhorns and still carrying the psychological bruises from past brushes with the Australians, it is absolutely crucial.

South Africa's best chance of winning was always going to be for Pollock to bust open Australia's supposedly fragile top order and expose Ricky Ponting, still a slightly jittery Test No. 3, to the new ball. As it was, the only new ball Ponting had to worry about was the one unwrapped after 80 overs.

That Pollock flopped so resoundingly was, from Australia's point of view, as much down to good luck as good management: accidental openers Justin Langer and Matthew Hayden piled up so many runs against New Zealand that it was impossible to jettison either of them. Langer, the ballsy streetfighter with the solid defence, always looked a sound bet against South Africa. But few armchair experts would have backed Hayden, the man with the proven Test frailties, over Slater, the man with the proven Test record and the beguiling ability to hit good balls for four.

Hayden is less likely to do that, but he is more likely to punish any half-bad ones. It is too simplistic to say that Pollock's line and length were upset by having to bowl to two left-handers; one sensed, indeed, that all it needed was for Pollock to mount a searching examination outside off stump and Hayden could yet be found out. But he was never permitted to.

South Africans, though, should not feel too down at heart. There is an upside, after all, to one team's fate being intrinsically linked to one man's performance: when the player comes good, so does the team. Six weeks, which is all that remains before battle resumes at Johannesburg, can be a very long time in cricket.

Chris Ryan is managing editor of Wisden Cricket Monthly and a former Darwin correspondent of the Melbourne Age.

More Chris Ryan
The star who's one of us
Bodyline: it still rankles

© Wisden CricInfo Ltd