for MacLaren. He was less successful in managing his team. Regarded as a pessimist, he openly showed disappointment at the composition of his sides, and became downcast when the course of the match was running against him. Some of those who played under him thought that his sides were unhappy ones which operated without joy and solely concentrated on winning. He encountered many difficulties over selection; he often promoted cricketers whom he considered to show potential and consequently railed against committees which did not provide him with the players he wanted. Down suggests that MacLaren was usually correct, being more experienced and a better judge than most of those who chose the teams. Peter Wynne-Thomas describes MacLaren's approach to selection as "unorthodox", and writes that while his ideas were sometimes successful, they failed badly at other times. Apart from his own failings, MacLaren had a reputation as an unlucky captain, both in terms of losing important players to injury and illness before vital games, and in the frequency with which he lost the toss before a match. Nor was MacLaren particularly popular; in later years, several people for whom he had been a hero changed their opinion once they met him. In his history of the club, Peter Wynne-Thomas describes MacLaren as the dominant figure in Lancashire cricket from his debut until the First World War. Gibson accepts that MacLaren was tactically a good captain, but observes that in his 12 seasons as leader of a strong Lancashire team, he only once won the County Championship. In addition, as the appointed captain in four series against Australia, he was beaten in each one, something no other England captain has repeated. Gibson suggests that "the excuses begin to run thin, sieved through such a tale of failure." Gibson summarises that "England under MacLaren must have been a good side to watch, save for the passionate partisans, but an uncomfortable side in which to play ... Bad captain or no, with no doubt ... MacLaren was one of the most entrancing, one of the most glamorous—though that word had not come into fashion in his day—characters of his cricketing epoch." Notes References Bibliography Military personnel from Manchester England Test cricket captains English cricketers English people of Scottish descent England Test cricketers English cricketers of 1890 to 1918 Lancashire cricketers Lancashire cricket captains People from Whalley Range Wisden Cricketers of the Year 1871