SSA Blog: Follow the leader

Ben Stokes takes to the field as England captain for the first time during this summer’s first test vs West Indies in Southampton. The series itself is set against the backdrop of Covid-19 with the ECB creating a bio bubble or bio-secure environment for the players in order for the matches to take place. Restrictions regarding the ‘bubble’ have meant Joe Root is unable to take part in this test. His wife is expecting their second child so he left the camp to be at the birth and is now isolating to in the hope of returning to the team later in the series. Root’s absence has necessitated the proportion of Ben Stokes to Captain. The talismanic all-rounder has certainly been a leading figure in English Cricket for years but is he ready to make the step up to being the Leader?   

Ben Stokes during the ICC Cricket World Cup in 2019

The captaincy has been somewhat of a poisoned chalice for past English all-rounders. Ian Botham and Andrew Flintoff’s brief tenures in the role are the obvious examples. Despite being dominant performers, both were unable to transfer that dominance into successful captaincy. It is often said that the burden of captaincy inhibits a player’s ability to play. It creates a greater cognitive load and inhibits the ability to focus on their usual role. Is there any evidence to support this observation?

Last season Ben Stokes produced the greatest innings in English cricket history. In what seemed like an impossible task he scored 135 not out to save the Ashes series against Australia. Sport psychology has identified six mental characteristics needed to perform under pressure. These were set out by Swann et al., 2016 as: 

• intense and deliberate focus,

• intense effort,

• heightened awareness,

• heightened arousal,

• absence of negative thoughts, and

• automaticity of skills.

Stokes’ 135 run match-winning innings at Headingly is an interesting example of deliberate focus. Often, clutch performances take place when only a limited number of options are available to the performer. In this case, as his partners lost their wickets, Stokes was forced to focus on his performance and execution. This reduced any additional technical or tactical considerations which may have previously caused extra cognitive load. The absence of negative thoughts also came across in his post-match interview. Stokes highlighted his lack of nerves until the chase was reduced to single figures (probably the point at which increasing factors such as shot selection began to grow as part of his conscious thought process). By this point, however, it is likely he was in a flow state sometimes known as ‘the zone’ with additional psychological characteristics further supporting his performance. 

As a captain, will such an absence of other considerations be possible?   

There is no doubt that captaincy creates additional mental challenges. However, if, as leading sport psychologists suggest, mental skills can be learnt and developed in the same way as physical skills, there is no reason why additional responsibility has to have a negative impact on performance. In recent interviews Stokes has talked about a collegiate style of leadership, leaning on the expertise and experience of other senior players within the group. This style of group leadership was also championed by Gareth Southgate when developing his England FIFA World Cup squad prior to the 2018 tournament. He emphasised the need to create a number of leaders that shared responsibility in terms of media, playing units and internal communication. To achieve this he named a number of different captains prior to announcing Harry Kane as his World Cup skipper in order to develop wider group experience of the role. 

In their 2016 paper examining leadership in sport, Cotterill and Cheetham suggest the need for further clarity regarding the role of the captain and the skills required. They suggest the traditional views of what makes a great captain need to be challenged. Picking the best player, or a talismanic figure undervalues the mix of leadership and performance skills needed. It also ignores the personality traits and mental skills that will need time to be developed.  

Interest and understanding of the mental side of sport is now at an all-time high. The increased ability to directly measure cognitive skills, emotional responses and player personalities is seen as one of the next major steps in sport science. For marketing and sports sponsorship, the increased interest in the performance development story means the psychological element of performance will be the next area of focus. If activated properly, the potential for increased insight, advanced activations and wider commercial income for clubs, players and brands could be huge. 

Paring the improved psychological understanding with technological advances will enable sport science to directly measure new performance parameters over the coming years. Future captains can be identified earlier via personality testing, behavioural responses to responsibility and the ever-changing sporting situations they face as they mature within their sports and lives. The skills needed can be nurtured, not learning on the job in the heat of international competition when the pressure to lead can inhibit performance. 

Being a world-class captain takes more than world-class performance. To lead a team to achieve consistent success requires a specific set of leadership skills. A captain has to understand their own personality and the personalities of the players around them in order to extract the most from everyone. Stokes has been a leading figure in the England set-up for a number of years and has shown leadership quality throughout. Recent interviews suggest he will bring a mature and collegiate style to the role. However, until he has been given time to experience the increased psychological demands, we will not know how the added responsibility will affect his performance...

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