Being the captain of an international cricketing side is not easy to say the least. Candidates who looked absolutely ideal before their appointment have failed to deliver, often at the cost of their own personal performances. A great captain has to have strategic ability to out-guess the oppostion and make the best use of available conditions while retaining the respect of his own men. A good personal record will, of course, be a bonus.

Bearing that in mind, who would your choice be of the Greatest Captain of them all?

Voted for someone else, Clive Lloyd.

Imran, of course. Pakistan were a poorly led, disorganised rabble before him, and a disunited rabble after him, destroyed by political machinations and infighting - whilst under him, they were for a while the joint best Test team in the world.

The team's poor performance in the 1970s and the 1990s, ie the pre-Imran and post-Imran eras, when the team actually had many more 'stars', bears testimony to Imran's impact as a captain.

And he did all that whilst being the team's leading fast bowler and/or one of its most dependable batsmen; someone who always led from the front and actually performed better when it really mattered.

Of course, Lloyd and Jardine are two good runners-up, but there's only one winner.

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A lie can travel halfway around the world while the truth is putting on its shoes
Mark Twain

It depends what you mean by great captain, is it a leader, strategist or just the captain that won a lot of games. I couldnt imagine a more inspiring captain/leader than the great Sir Donald Bradman. That a side the best captain I have ever seen is Steve Waugh (even though I dont like him at all).

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Bill Ponsford - The only one who could play in Bradman’s company and make it a duet.

Imran Khan for me. Steve Waugh also was a great captain but he had the right resources. The Pakistani cricketers have been the most indisciplined ones and infighting has been a tradition in that team. The way Imran Khan managed to keep them together and won a world cup was amazing.

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My computer can beat me at chess.....but its no match for me at kick boxing.

This is a tricky one for me.....

Imran did a fantastic job as captain of Pakistan and had he been captain over the last 10 years they would probably have challenged Australia. However I dont feel he was great tactically and i feel that should come into it.....

Its similar for Steve Waugh/ Ricky Ponting, they were captaining a team that was that good they didnt have to think that much when they were in a tight spot, apart from throwing the ball to Warne/McGrath.

Clive Lloyd falls a bit in both camps, he had the best team ever (IMO) to captain and he did a great job of uniting players from differant islands but he wasnt great tactically - although he perhaps didnt have to be when he could throw the ball to Marshall, Croft, Garner, Holding, Roberts.......

What about Allan Border? He took over when the Aussies were pretty much the worst around and quit at the top, he was decent tactically too. Just dont think he was the best ever.

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Mark.

Imran Khan without a doubt. He weilded so much power and for him to use it for his team and his passion and flair, simply awsome.

In my time it has to be Imran or Border.Imran for being capable of bringing unity to Pakistan cricket which is rarer than Gary Neville goal and Border for being a captain who took his team from the bottom to the top.

As for my own country,i respect Nasser Hussain and the job he did but Michael Vaughan does seem to have the touch of a magician in the job as far as winning test matches is concerned.

I can only realistically vote on those i have seen in the job so am restricted to the last 23 years.

Having seen a few Captains in my time it would have to be Benaud..Good stragegist..leads by example either taking wickets/scoring runs/fielding was first class

Clive Lloyd's first series as captain was a 3-2 win over India in India. He then drew 0-0 in Pakistan and then lost 5-1 to Australia in Australia.

What was to come in his captaincy was not even thought possible when he was surprisingly chosen as WI captain.

He did not start out with the battery of fast bowlers.

His supposed lack of tactical nous is grossly exaggerated and patently untrue. Whilst there may be more tactically aware captains, he devised the idea of what the West Indies of the late 70s/early 80s would be. It was he he put in place the blueprint, highlighted the bowlers needed and used them to great effect. It was he who realised the need for fitness development and made them into not just the best bowling outfit but the fittest and most athletic unit and the best fielding side too.

He wielded huge influence and respect and punished any indiscretions in the team (and there were many!).

Though not a selector, he got what he wanted, when he wanted it and dleivered big time.

When they went out on the field, like Worrell before him, he united the players from the federation of countries that form the WI into an effective fighting unit they defeated all comers.

No captain of other Test nation has to deal with that issue with regards to captaincy. It is unique amongst Test nations.

Clive Lloyd did it and built the greatest side EVER.

He averaged 51 as captain having averaged 38 at the time he got the captaincy

He was not only the captain, he was a senior batsman and also the de facto manager and coach.

The sight of a senior batsman running laps around the ground in his full batting gear as punishment was evidence that Clive Lloyd was respected and effective.

He built something that people feared but still loved, changed the rules to defeat but still tried to emulate and is still reminisced over to this day with a mixture of awe, love, nostalgia. So many people around the world speak of them to this day.

He set the becnhmark upon which all future WI teams (in many cases, unfairly) will always be compared.

He built such an effective unit and did it so modestly and without fanfare that not many people outside of the circle think he did.

That the likes of Brearley, who was wise not to face him as captain, are mentioned in the same breath is a joke.

The greatest disservice done to Clive Lloyd is saying that he won because he had the bowlers at his disposal or that anyone else as captain would have won. Not true.

It was always funny reading journalists, nearly always English, who were "purists" who would moan and whinge that Lloyd built a side that used 4 fast bowlers to destroy his opposition. They complained that he never had any need for a spinner as if having a spinner is a selectorial must. They never moaned when the treatment had been dished out to WI in the early part of Lloyd's reign. After that Aussie mauling he vowed that from then on the WI would never suffer like that again on his watch.

And they did not!

When you sow the seed and nurture the development of a team and then lead (from the front) and carry them to the pinnacle of the game all time, then you are great.

The only "hands down" selection as the greatest captain ever is Clive Hubert Lloyd.