I dont think his tactical nous was ever tested.....

Couldnt argue there.

Again, couldnt argue there.

I've never complained about that Windies side, infact IMO they were the greatest side ever and a team i still like to watch.

His off the field work and discipline he instilled into that team does mark him down as one of the greats, still not sure about his on field tactical nous though, i mean all he had to decide was who to thow the ball to next; Marshall, Holding, Croft, Garner, Roberts.....

Still , a good post there Ninjaman and so far you have made the most convincing argument as to why your choice is the greatest.

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Mark.

What we are all loosing sight of and NOT taking into consideration is most of the Captains are being selected from different eras of playing..Just how hard or easy is it to lead a team of champions as opposed to a good team. Bradmans team of 1948 cannot be compared successsfully to Pontings team of 2006..different rules,methods of training,pays,fitness levels etc etc etc have to be taken into consideration.So, really how can any of us compare Captains ? Maybe the question should have been more specific and related to decades

pie chucker, you replied to my post as if I was "getting at you". Don't worry. I'm not.

Just giving a reason to my initial choice.

No worries Ninjaman, I didnt think you were getting at me!

Despite what that Windies side did to us, unlike a lot of Englishmen I hold that team in high regard and have a soft spot for them (dont know why though).

BTW, I liked the justification of your choice!

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Mark.

For the reasons most have said, I think the top two are Imran and Lloyd. I find it very difficult to separate them. Both were able to unite sides of individuals (something that has been impossible to do since they left) and both performed at the top of their game as skipper. Would Imran be able to lead the side effectively if he couldn't draw on his own services? He really was an awesome player - sorted out the world cup by promoting himself up the batting line up and made the best Pakistan side (able to hold Viv's WIndies side in 86 and 88) by throwing the ball to himself and bowling like a King.

Lloyd won the world cup in 75 with a side that had very few of the great bowlers people talk about. The influence of the mauling at the hands of Lillee and Thomson cannot be understated here. Lloyd clearly turned that experience into a positive.

I cannot understand why Ian Chappell and Jardine have not got a mention here. For the record, I always had Imran captaining my world all time XI - mainly due to the fact that Lloyd didn't get a place.

I cast my vote for Douglas Jardine. He developed a tactic that virtually halved the average of the greatest batsman ever.

ONLY for that series.It was a different story when the Aussies went back to England

Jardine didn't play that series so the efforts of Bradman in 34 are not relevant.

So 304 in 425 minutes at Leeds on that 34 tour is not relevant?

Given that we are talking about Jardine as captain and that Bob Wyatt was the England captain on that tour, then yes it is irrelevant.