Missed opportunity for Bangladesh in Galle

The declaration — or rather the lack of it — in Galle on Saturday has sparked a buzz in cricketing circles, raising more than just eyebrows.

- BY REX CLEMENTINE

Talk declarations and your mind goes back to Trinidad, 1968. Sir Garry Sobers, the West Indies skipper, made a bold, sporting declaration against England. It backfired. England chased down the target, and the hosts lost. When the team landed in Guyana for the next Test, a cheeky immigration officer asked Sir Garry, "Mr. Sobers, have you got anything to declare?"

That brand of brave-hearted captaincy seems to be vanishing. In today's game, skippers often err on the side of caution, wary of criticism, reputations, and stats.

Cricket, a game of glorious uncertainties, doesn't always demand your best player to be the leader. Mike Brearley, for instance, never scored a Test hundred but masterminded victories by managing mavericks like Botham, Gatting and Gower. His was a thinking cap, not a batting helmet.