BBC SPORT | Cricket | Specials | Australia v South Africa

Captain Shaun Pollock's tactical naivety has come under scrutiny during South Africa's series defeat to Australia. Neil Manthorp reports for BBC Sport Online.

Shaun Pollock failed as a captain in all three Tests against Australia.

But does that mean he is a failure? Will South Africa discard him in favour of a fresh face?

After recovering from one-nil down to draw his first series in Sri Lanka in August 2000, the all-rounder with the most valuable cricketing genes in his country won his next six series in a row.

But come the ultimate challenge, and he was whitewashed.

The bottom line is that Australia really are the better team and would have won the series whatever Pollock had done as captain.

But he might have made the contest a lot closer with a tweak here and a prod there. In fact, he might have made it a contest.

Diplomacy

It is well documented that his leadership began unexpectedly and in traumatic circumstances when Hansie Cronje collapsed from grace and favour at the hand of illegal bookmakers in April 2000.

Although Pollock was his official deputy, he had never seriously considered his role as captain because Cronje's dominance was akin to Egypt's pyramids - immovable and unquestioned.

Pollock at the press conference when he replaced Hansie Cronje
Pollock was brought in as much for his diplomacy
Besides, Pollock's appointment was always more about his clean-cut lifestyle and intelligence than it was about his potential acumen as an on-field skipper because he had never captained any team, at any level.

So, unlike an ambitious deputy who can see his boss coming to the end of his reign, Pollock hadn't primed his left- and right-hand men.

He hadn't fathomed how far he could go with his confidantes and hadn't paid much attention to the captain's responsibilities on the field.

To be brutal, he hadn't given much serious thought to most aspects of the job.

A loose but loyal assortment of lieutenants materialised within the team and they contributed on the field when they could - or when they felt safe to.

Pollock is, after all, a redhead and a fast bowler, a combination to which volatility is a sibling.

Long-established friendships were tested as the new captain adapted his light-hearted ways and showed a willingness to withdraw from the squad and create the distance most leaders need from their troops to function effectively.

Committee

His very first Test in charge was a spectacular disaster.

A clueless Pollock followed South African tradition with a three-slip, gulley, short leg field while Sanath Jayasuriya led his side to 522 and an innings victory.

Tactics quickly became something to be discussed and finalised during intervals, when the skipper could consult with coach Graham Ford, his coach at Natal from the first day of his career and long-time friend.

It was a policy that worked well because no team was capable of exposing its limitations.

Pollock's inability to be flexible and adapt to changing circumstances was always able to survive until the next meeting with Ford, assistant coach Corrie van Zyl and a couple of his senior players.

In the first Test in Adelaide, on the fourth day, South Africa needed to defend for their survival with the home side attempting to build on a slender 65-run lead for a final day run chase.

Pollock understandably instructed left-arm spinner Claude Henderson to bowl over the wicket to the left handed Matthew Hayden to force him to play on his less favoured off side.

Hayden stubbornly refused to inconvenience the six fielders on the off side and pepperd the leg side boundary, sweeping from a foot and a half outside off stump.

Pollock either didn't know what to do, or chose not to act. Astonishingly, he also bowled just 10 overs himself on a day when run-saving was crucial.

Still to learn

By the end of the third Test Pollock had become used to questions about his leadership.

"I'm still learning, there's no escaping from that," he said after presiding over his country's first Test series whitewash for 70 years.

"Hopefully I'm getting better all the time. Tactically there are still things for me to learn, but you're always learning in this game.

Pollock and coach Graham Ford
Ford has always provided a shoulder to lean on
"As far as motivation is concerned, I'm doing my best to keep the team focused but at the same time they must relax in order to express themselves and play their best cricket."

There has been - and still is - a litany of disturbing and distracting off-field crises ravaging the current squad and Pollock admits the racial tension at administrative level in South Africa "is not ideal".

"But I have to concentrate on the team and try to make sure they are not too distracted by what's happening.

"The team is the only thing I can affect or have control over. We know what the [racial quota] situation is and we accept it and get on with life."

Other contenders

If only Pollock was as sharp tactically as he is politically.

If it was possible to split the leaders duties between on-field and off-field, Pollock would almost certainly retain the blazer and tie section of the job.

Neil McKenzie
Smart money is on McKenzie as Pollock's eventual successor
If he is retained on the full deal then South Africa will probably carry on beating the rest, but to beat the best they will need far more spontaneity and imagination from their captain.

If Pollock's modest form in the Australian series continues, he will rapidly feel the heat and pressure of a disappointed and expectant nation.

His vice-captain, Mark Boucher, is an obvious candidate to take over but the smart money is on Neil McKenzie.

The middle order batsman became the country's second-youngest provincial captain when he took over at Northerns in 1996 aged 22 and he commands the respect of all that have played with him.