Mike Brearley, one of the most celebrated captains in cricket history, was born on this day in 1942.
Brearley is widely credited as one of the best to lead England and even wrote a well respected book on the subject in 1985 – The Art of Captaincy.
Here the PA news agency considers him and a quartet of other skippers who could claim to be the best England have had in Test cricket.
Douglas Jardine (captained 15, winning nine from 1931-34)
Ray Illingworth (captained 31, winning 12 between 1969-73)
Mike Brearley (captained 31, winning 18 between 1977-81)
Michael Vaughan (captained 51, winning 26 between 2003-08)
Sir Andrew Strauss (captained 50, winning 24 between 2006-12)
