Virat Kohli and Steven Smith are both very successful young batsman-captains.Its interesting to debate which is more important: the batting or the captaincy?Theres one major reason why most captains are batsmen rather than bowlers. Its easier for them to separate their primary skill from the leadership role. A batting captain has little else to concentrate on, when hes batting, other than scoring runs. Its only when a declaration is in the offing - and then only if hes at the crease - that he has to concern himself with other matters. When the batsman-captain is on the field, he can concentrate solely on bowling changes and field placements.Not surprisingly, a few of the captains who have been good bowlers have enjoyed great leadership success. Richie Benaud and Imran Khan are two who readily leap to mind. Imran believed that to be a good captain you must understand bowling, and its hard to refute his logic. In the cases of Kohli and Smith, they are at least part-time bowlers, which helps them understand and have sympathy for what the bowler is trying to achieve.This is where a captain can veer off the rails. Its not his job to tell the bowler what he should be doing and where to place his field. Thats not a sign of a strong captain, rather of one lacking understanding. The captain only need ask a bowler how hes trying to dismiss the batsman and the field placings should then easily fall into place.Field placement, especially as it relates to a spinner, is something that needs to be sorted out prior to going onto the field. Its counterproductive for captain and bowler to be having serious debates over where the field should be while the match is in progress. For a captain who understands bowling - and especially in relation to spinners - the original placing of the field and any resultant changes should come fairly naturally. If it doesnt then the bowler and the team are in trouble.Both Kohli and Smith have been more successful batsmen after they assumed the role of captain. This indicates the selectors have chosen wisely, as its crucial to anoint a player who will be buoyed, rather than weighed down, by the extra responsibility.This makes the Indian and Australian method of choosing the captain far better than the one England employed in the days of amateur and professional players. Back then, England often chose the captain (usually an amateur) first, followed by the rest of the team. Nowadays its commonplace to appoint the captain from the chosen XI.Both Kohli and Smith have successfully managed the priority of being batting captains. Never forget that making a mountain of runs is a sure way to lead by example. Kohli has displayed the ability to lift his already high standard in times of need, and there was no better example than his second-innings century against Australia at Adelaide Oval. Not only was it an inspirational innings, it firmly declared his hand as a captain who would try to win the game for as long as humanly possible.Even when his team was going through a horror patch of five successive Test losses, Smith remained the sides most consistent batsman. His defiant 48 not out in Hobart, when everyone around him succumbed to the relentless South African attack, was a great example of a captain who refused to wilt.One area where Kohli has shaded Smith is in the handling of spinners. Under his leadership R Ashwin has prospered as the leader of Indias attack. In contrast, there have been times when Nathan Lyon has struggled to the point where his selection was in doubt until he produced a much-improved effort in Adelaide.It should be a fascinating contest between these two evolving captains when they clash in early 2017. With both aspects - batting and captaincy - of equal importance, it will be the one who provides plenty of runs and inspiration for his bowlers who will be holding aloft the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. Cheap Jordan Wholesale Free Shipping . - Connor McDavid scored 53 seconds into overtime as the Erie Otters came from behind to defeat the visiting Guelph Storm 4-3 on Saturday in Ontario Hockey League action. Cheap Jordans For Sale Wholesale . LOUIS -- Lance Lynn was one of the more enthusiastic participants as the St. http://www.cheapjordanfromchina.com/ . Fred Couples, captain of the U.S. side, put it all into perspective. "We know whos in charge," he said. Wholesale Retro Jordans China . -- Bobby Ryan helped the U. Wholesale Retro Jordans Cheap .com) - The Calgary Flames aim to bounce back from their first regulation home loss of the campaign on Friday night when they host a Detroit Red Wings club that they swept in three meetings a season ago. GLENDALE, Ariz. -- Pekka Rinne and Mike Smith have followed each others careers since they broke into the league in 2005 and 2006, respectively.They watched each other become elite goaltenders when given the opportunity to play consistently. They squared off in the 2012 Western Conference semifinals and they went through dry spells in their careers that had analysts wondering if they were done.They were not. Both 34-year-olds are among the leagues top 20 in save percentage this season -- Rinne is 17th at .922; Smith is 13th at .926. Both are facing an inordinate amount of shots and both have been key reasons for any success their teams have had -- in Smiths case, perhaps the only reason.Now back at the top of their profession, Smith and Rinne expressed mutual admiration for each other as they prepared to face each other for the first time this season on Saturday at Gila River Arena.We played in the minor leagues together so weve gotten to know each other and we have a mutual friend in Nashville, Smith said. Hes a battler. Hes obviously a big guy that covers a lot of net, but the one thing about Peks is he never gives up on a puck and youve got to respect the guy for that -- a guy that big that can move that well.Rinne said its still hard to believe that he and Smith have been in the league a decade-plus.For years and years I still considered myself a young guy and all of the sudden youve played a lot of years in this league and youre looked at as one of the older guys, Rinne said, laughing. Were the same age so Im really happy to see Smitty still doing well.It is still business as usual when you play against each other because its all about the two points, but for sure, you always try to be better than your counterpart and when you know the guy it creates a little more of a battle. You always want to play well against the guys youve played a lot.Thhe Predators were hot at the tail end of November, winning four of five games, but they have dropped three of four (1-2-1) in December.ddddddddddddWere still trying to find that consistency, Rinne said.Arizona is trying to find any kind of winning combination. The Coyotes lost a season-high six games (0-3-3) and they are tied for the fewest points in the NHL with Colorado at 21. Smith thought Thursdays 2-1 overtime loss to Calgary was a step in the right direction.We talked about having to be more engaged in games and the compete level had to come up, he said. But now we have to sustain that and we have to generate more out of it. We cant just be satisfied with just being a team that works hard.The Coyotes made a trade to shore up their center position on Friday by sending a conditional sixth-round pick to Toronto in exchange for 25-year-old Peter Holland. Arizona GM John Chayka hopes that Holland can help replace Brad Richardson, who suffered a broken tibia and fibula and is out indefinitely.Hes been somewhat productive in limited opportunities at times and hes been a good stabilizing force in any position hes used in, Chayka said. Hes coming into a group where weve got a lot of injuries and just underperformance. Hes a guy that will certainly get opportunity.Coyotes left wing Max Demi left Thursdays game with a cut under his eye and was seeing doctors on Friday for reasons the Coyotes would not identify. 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