Australian cricket fraternity is currently debating on the future of its Test captain with many tipping Pat Cummins to succeed Tim Paine as the next Australian Test captain while some believe Steve Smith should be reinstated to the captaincy.
Smith lost the all-format captaincy after the Cape Town ball-tampering scandal in 2018, though he has now returned to international cricket and has been in incredible form with the bat for the last 12 months – which favored him to return to captaincy capacity after Paine’s reigns come to an end.
However, Michael Clarke wants vice-captain Cummins to replace Paine as Australia’s Test captain in the future and if it would happen, then it will be a decision out of Australian tradition in cricketing history.
Ray Lindwall was the last fast bowler who captained Australia in Test and in the only Test in India in 1956.
Well, Cummins, the world’s no.1 Test bowler, said he doesn’t understand why a bowler could not captain the Australian Test side. The fast-bowler also said it was “great to hear” that Clarke backed him as Paine's successor, but doesn’t see any possibility of this for now.
Cummins told reporters on a Zoom call on Friday: “I have been speaking to a few people and they think out of all formats potentially Tests are easiest for a bowler to captain.”
He added, “Obviously you're busy, you're going to be out there putting a lot of effort into bowling, but there's a bit more time afforded to you, the game moves at a slightly softer pace. I know there haven't been too many bowling captains, but I don't understand why it has to be a batter.”
On Clarke’s comments, the pacer said: “It was great to hear, but of course, it means absolutely nothing because we have got some great captains at the moment.”
Cummins is all set to play his first Test in Adelaide against India from December 17 after 11 months – his longest gap since his Test debut in 2011 but he “doesn't see too much of a problem” in making the switch from the limited-overs format.
he signed off by saying, “I've been playing quite a bit, high intensity. I've played 20 games or so in the last couple of months so I feel like I'm used to playing and it's just that slight tweak as we move into longer form cricket.”
(With AFP Inputs)
