English cricket - what a shambles. To see the England captain and coach resign on the eve of the team’s departure for a tour of the West Indies is appalling.  There were many people who were sceptical about the appointment of Kevin Pietersen as England’s cricket captain.  He is a strong-willed, somewhat maverick, individual who was not the most obvious candidate for working with the ECB bureaucracy or planning a way forward for the side.

Likewise, there were many who were sceptical about the appointment of Peter Moores as coach in May 2007 after Duncan Fletcher’s resignation.  Appointed without interview or job advertisement, Moores had a difficult task in replacing the excellent Fletcher.  His style is very different in that he wants to be in charge, whereas Fletcher always maintained that he was merely the consultant to the captain

A captain in cricket is in a different position from almost every other sport. He has to make decisions about tactics on the field whereas in, say, football, that is a matter for the coach.  The debate will no doubt rage for sometime as to who is at fault – who is to blame – Captain, Coach or the men in suits who rule the ECB – possibly all three?

Effective leadership is critical within any team if that team is to be successful.  The leaders must not only understand what the team has to achieve but also understand how the individual team member functions, what motivates them and, therefore, how to get the best out of them.  In the interests of team cohesiveness, the leader has to put the team before any personal preferences.

In addition to the differences between Moores and Pietersen, it is reported that the England Captain did not enjoy the support of quite a few team members and it was this lack of support that may have put the final nail in the coffin.  Moores and Pietersen appear to be dominant characters – high dominance, especially if combined with a high level of intrinsic motivation (which can manifest itself as high energy levels, drive and intense physical activity at a rapid pace) can produce both positive and negative results.

Perhaps these two dominant people were not prepared to listen to anyone else’s point of view?

Any effective team leader must be highly motivated and inspire his team.  Leading by example is an old cliché, but not a bad rule to follow.  The highly dominant/motivated character is quite often totally insensitive to any opinion, other than his own, and will rarely look for points of agreement and common interest.

Listening to and being considerate of the thoughts, feelings and experiences of others is difficult for this type of character and they have to work very hard to be an effective team player.  When guiding the team, the dominant leader may be too subjective in assessing situations and not willing enough to adjust his approach to meet team objectives.

However, as an effective leader you must consider the views and opinions of your colleagues and create a situation were there is good communication and effective relationships which will lead to better co-operation and improved performance.

It is all very well the ECB selecting a Captain because he is flamboyant and a great batsman.  Pietersen was inexperienced at captaincy and may have struggled with the management tasks that go beyond changing the field or picking the bowlers.

In their quest to recruit the next England Captain, perhaps the ECB should consider the value of psychometric assessments – there are a number of benefits to this strategy, but in this way they will be able to identify the personal traits of applicants, their likely on-the-job attitudes and behaviours, how they are perceived by others and identify areas that require professional growth.

This might avoid a re-occurrence of the current situation!