Was Hansie Cronje a better captain than Graeme Smith?

[Khizr96]

I was watching old cricket videos and must say i was impressed with Cronjes captaincy skills he was an attacking captain plus a great player under pressure
I think its a very close competition between smith and cronje
Cronje captained in 53 matches tests winning 26 whereas smith captained in about 100 winning 50

 

[90MPH]

He was a very good captain, both tactically and his man management.

It's a shame what he will be remembered for.......thats what greed can do to man.

And he seemed genuinely remorseful when he was caught red handed.

 

[Khizr96]

He was a very good captain, both tactically and his man management.

It's a shame what he will be remembered for.......thats what greed can do to man.

And he seemed genuinely remorseful when he was caught red handed.

He was a bigger loss to SA cricket then the loss of Amir Asiff and Butt combined for Pakistan!

 

[Buffet]

Cronje captained in 53 matches tests winning 26 whereas smith captained in about 100 winning 50

It's twice as hard to do the same in 100 game vs 50 games. Anyway, that's just the result.

For me, Cronje will remain a fixer and everything else is irrelevant.

 

[Khizr96]

It's twice as hard to do the same in 100 game vs 50 games. Anyway, that's just the result.

For me, Cronje will remain a fixer and everything else is irrelevant.

I have to agree with u

 

[zabalestmsm]

Yes he was!

 

[Hamza78]

Yes he was best ever captain

 

[Savak]

Cronje achieved results when he captained Scotland or Ireland. He was among the all time greatest captains.

 

[as-95]

He was a bigger loss to SA cricket then the loss of Amir Asiff and Butt combined for Pakistan!

Sorry, but this statement is absolute rubbish.

 

[Jo_Don]

Easily a better captain but a flawed individual. Who knows how many more we could have won if he wasn't involved in those dubious antics.

 

[Khizr96]

Wessels
Cronje
Smith
Du Plessis
All failed AB De Vieliers does it for SA!
They finally wina knockout match!

 

[Fire Bird]

Wessels
Cronje
Smith
Du Plessis
All failed AB De Vieliers does it for SA!
They finally wina knockout match!

Only because this team had imports . If the team had only homegrown saffers it would have choked.

 

[Fire Bird]

Cronje had better players than Smith. When he took over the captaincy, Smith didn't have the calibre of bowlers that Cronje did. Pollock was aging, Ntini and Nel was no match for Donald and co. Smith managed to rally them in the early years and once Steyn and others arrived, they rose to the top. Almost all SA captains are similar in that they are great leaders but someone who is poor in tactics and taking their chances. They are all consrvative like this guy .

 

[muqarrab]

Cronje was a very good captain tactically. But he was not a leader, smith was the other way around.

 

[Justcrazy]

Cronje was good because he had tactical Woolmer with him , also some quality all rounders.

 

[silentkiller187]

Cronje achieved results when he captained Scotland or Ireland. He was among the all time greatest captains.

could you elaborate on this?

 

[SamNJ]

Its a shame to compare this fixer with anyone.

 

[Jo_Don]

Its a shame to compare this fixer with anyone.

Not really, because you can only fix a match to lose. Fixing to win would require the opposing team to fix too. So his record could have been even better if he was honest.

 

[Sandeep]

Cronje will rank among the greatest captains ever along with Border, Steve Waugh; let alone Smith

 

[MenInG]

Would have been his 50th birthday today

 

[Ab Fan]

He was undoubtedly a fantastic captain to have. I will play him as captain in my South African ODI xi:-

Gibbs
Amla
Kallis
AB
Cronje(c)
Klusenar
Boucher(wkt)
Pollock
Tahir
Steyn
Donald

 

[Hasan123]

Nope. Smith was better.

 

[sweep_shot]

Cronje was a legendary captain. He is actually the only captain in South African history to win a major trophy.

Under Cronje, SA won 1998 Champions Trophy.

 

[Last Monetarist]

Cronje was a better tactician than Smith and he was certainly a more influential leader as well. He towered over South African sporting society just as much as François Pienaar. It's utter nonsense to imply that he was riding the coattails of Woolmer to success.

Smith on the other hand was one of those captains that tend to lead by example: he fronted up and was prepared to do all the dirty work himself. Both were positively adored by their men, which is what made Cronje's corruption so galling.

Hard to pick one, but you can't realistically ignore Cronje's betrayal, so I'd go with Smith.

 

[sweep_shot]

I think many members here haven't seen Cronje live. He was a very well-respected captain until that match-fixing incident.

Smith was good but he never won any major trophy. Cronje did.

 

[Slog]

I think many members here haven't seen Cronje live. He was a very well-respected captain until that match-fixing incident.

Smith was good but he never won any major trophy. Cronje did.

Smith was the first captain in almost 15+ years to win a Test series in Australia. And this was one of the ATG Aussie sides not a weak side riddled by injury and bans.

 

[Birdman]

Cronje was not a better captain than Smith, he had a better team Smith.

 

[sweep_shot]

Smith was the first captain in almost 15+ years to win a Test series in Australia. And this was one of the ATG Aussie sides not a weak side riddled by injury and bans.

That was not an ATG Aussie side. It was 2008 and many of the greats already retired.

Here is the scorecard: https://www.espncricinfo.com/series...t-test-south-africa-tour-of-australia-2008-09.

Furthermore, winning a Champions Trophy is more valuable than winning a Test series.

 

[Savak]

I wonder if the lack of money in South African Cricket prompted Cronje to go the match fixing and spot fixing route.

 

[pratiktc]

He sold out the country, induced youngsters into fixing.
What more needs to be said?
Cronje was a traitor and a coward. No amount of inspired captaincy can erase those stains

 

[Dulex9]

What made Hansie Cronje a great captain and admired?

I read around him and I'm sure he was mentioned the best captain of the 90s and a great man manager.

He was charismatic but also humble, charming.

I also think he captained Ireland and Scotland.

So what made him a great captain, what attirbutes?

 

[Thunderbolt14]

Well, you wouldn’t believe it, but once, he made an agreement with the other captain to forfeit the 2nd and 3rd innings back to back just to force a result after the match had been rained out for 3 days.

A true gentleman of the game

 

[Rana]

I think it’s because he apparently connected with the post apartheid South African public. Nelson Mandela also promoted him a lot. The man was a very patriotic South African who just wasn’t seen as a racist. Which is sad because when he did get caught, it was noted that he exploited the non-white cricketers to participate in illegal activity.

 

[tyron_woodley]

he wrecked tendulkar a bunch of times. Good batsman as well.

 

[Thunderbolt14]

https://www.cricketcountry.com/arti...-great-leader-of-men-who-was-led-astray-31326

A good read if you have the time.

 

[Dulex9]

Cronje was against the quota system so I read which is seen as racist.

 

[Hasan123]

He was excellent tactically. He also had a personality which South African fans and players could get behind.


It's a shame that he got involved with fixing. It would been interesting to see how his career would have finished and how he would have been remembered if he finished his career without fixing.

 

[Markhor]

Watch BBC's The Captain and The Bookmaker.

Bob Woolmer makes an appearance in that fantastic documentary on Cronje.