Mark Tranter - my best captain
Mark Tranter | December 20, 2023
Bob Black was awarded a Legend of Sydney Shires Cricket in 2009. Not only being a fantastic cricketer and baseballer himself, but Bob was also a leader and a great tactical captain across the top 2 grades in our club.
Playing under Bob in the 1980s and 90s he wasn’t big on announcing a batting line up prior to a game. He would rather chat at training or on the phone during the week, and it was clear what role you were to play. 1:1’s was important for an individual which assisted you buying into the team’s success.
Predominantly an opener himself Bob’s approach with batting partners would be to chat briefly about the bowler and the wicket, then finish with "lets win the battle". He would know a weary bowler and he would up the tempo. Nothing too complicated. Bob scored 10,000 plus runs for the club.
In the field Bobs captaincy was calm but direct. Not a big mover of fielders but he always seemed to have a plan and I always felt it revolved around the pace of the wicket.
I was lucky enough to win a couple of premierships for our club playing under Bob as well as a couple of baseball comps as well. I considered myself lucky to be in the side, but I’m sure our success was not pure luck.
In 1990/91 we met Burwood in the 2nd grade Final and Pete Richardson was the Briars skipper. Wenty won the toss and batted on a very flat Monty Bennett wicket. There was no speech in the sheds as the mood was to bat and that we did. We scored 410 that day and Bob finished on 180. I think I even got few as well. The next day we bowled Burwood out for 130. (Sat/Sun game). We called the Monty Bennett the “Handkerchief” due to its small-ish dimensions.
Off the field, "Boston" (as we called him - a reference to Fenway Park) would let you know the real facts and sometimes you may get your nose out of joint for a short time but if you were smart, he was asking you to step up.
Joining the club as a 16-year-old I realised quickly that Bob was a leader and very much respected in our cricket club. Captains make tough decisions, and the better players get on with either being dropped or receiving poor feedback. A great captain will plant an idea into a player’s mind with the hope the light goes on and stays on. From the players we had in our club at Wentworthville Shires (now North West Sydney) Bob certainly influenced a lot of players to become leaders.
Bobby passed away far too young, but the memories will be with us forever.
