Nick Foster – my best captain

I have been fortunate enough to play under some very good captains over my playing time. The name that stands out to me as the best captain is Mark Littlewood.

I grew up playing junior cricket against Mark around the Newcastle area and then played a lot of grade cricket against him. Whilst I didn’t share a club changeroom with Mark I was fortunate enough to spend many successful years under his captaincy in the Newcastle Representative team.

Under Mark’s captaincy the Newcastle representative team had one of its most successful periods with multiple NSW Country Championship wins and also a hugely successful stint in the NSW Premier Cricket Kingsgrove Cup T20.

There are a few things that stick in my mind about Mark’s leadership and captaincy:

• Mark was one of the most competitive people I know and it’s safe to say that competitiveness took others along with him for the ride.
• He instilled confidence in others and especially myself. I have no doubt Mark made me a better cricketer and I think many other people he captained would say similar things. I always felt he had complete faith in me to do the job the team needed.
• Mark was always positive. Whether it be Batting, Bowling or with his captaincy, he was always trying to win! And always trying to move the game forward.
• Mark never took a backward step. It wouldn’t matter the opposition, Mark was always up for the fight. As a player in his team I found it such a great thing to know that our leader just wanted to win and wasn’t going to be intimidated or be pushed around by anyone.
• Mark performed when our team needed it the most. He was so resilient. I recall Mark dislocating a finger whilst fielding in a NSW Country Final at Bradman Oval in Bowral. Mark went to hospital for treatment and returned to bat and went on to score a decisive half century to secure another title for Newcastle.
• Mark was tactically very astute. He understood the game, and always seemed to be a step ahead. I am convinced that Mark’s tactical nous played a huge part in the success of the Newcastle teams he captained. Yes, we had many wonderful cricketers but I would say Marks captaincy often gave us a head start.

I feel very fortunate to have played underneath Mark and I have tried to incorporate some of his skills and traits into my own captaincy.