Non-stop captaincy

Being a county captain is time-consuming and energy-sapping. It is non-stop and for six months you can't get away from it. Captains hold the team and the match together. They have to keep their players motivated for the season, to deal with their highs and lows and to perform themselves.

The role of captain hasn't changed since I captained Yorkshire in the early 1990s. Technology gives extra information that might be useful but basically coach and captain try to complement each other. At Durham I am back-up for Dale Benkenstein. I help him with selection but he has the final say. I take the admin away from him - what time we leave, running practice sessions, that sort of thing. All he has to look after is who's bowling, work on his own game and then we will discuss how a session has gone and what we're going to do in the next session.

As a coach during play I am looking to see whether we are sticking to plans, whether the plans are working for the conditions and the batsmen and thinking what we can do to get a wicket. If you are taking wickets, let it go, get on with it but, when you are on the field as captain, sometimes you don't see the bigger picture, so a coach can offer a different perspective.

The captain has to deal with media as well - we always try to put a positive slant on games but also be honest. If you have not played well, you need to say it rather than make excuses. Then there are the sponsor requirements - the captain is the first person that the marketing people want to introduce to sponsors. The captain plays a big part in educating players how best to prepare themselves to perform. If he sees something he doesn't like, he'll have a quiet word. I don't think the captain will get too involved with people's private lives; he needs to get away when he can, so he won't be a Big Brother figure.

To be successful in the Championship, you need to go into each game trying to win. You have to be able to sense when you should attack and when you should be conservative. There are periods when you have to sit in and dry runs up, take a wicket by making it hard to score. The art of captaincy is being able to sense which line you should take. Being conservative first is in my opinion a dangerous option as 'trying not to lose' is an invitation to do just that. Try to win and, if you can't, then fight for a draw.

The qualities that captains need are a balance between respect and being a friend to team-mates - but also being able to give constructive criticism when needed. You need tactical awareness, a willingness to try different things, and you have to stay cool when things go wrong, make decisions at difficult times. You must be able to take yourself out of the mayhem and make that clinical move. Stephen Fleming has that aura - a calmness that is ever present. This is why Michael Vaughan was so good in the Ashes; he always seemed to be calm and in control, even when it was tight. That gives players confidence. Inside the captain may be worried and searching for answers but he must never show it to the team. You need to be part-actor as a captain.

On the county circuit at the moment Shane Warne impresses me most with his invention. He sets extravagant fields and it does make batsmen think. He is gets the best out of his team, he has them highly motivated. Players want to show him how good they are.

Strauss or Flintoff for England? I don't think they should worry about it just yet. Strauss is captain now, wait and see who's fit for the Ashes and make a decision then. Pick the team and then a captain from that. If Strauss got injured, then Paul Collingwood would be a candidate. He has a good cricket brain, he would be high on the list. I'd be happy with him as a county captain, if he wasn't so tied up with England.