Premier English pacer James Anderson backed Pat Cummins to be the next Test skipper of Australia, saying that more bowlers should be captain.
With just a few weeks remaining for the Ashes 2021-22, Australia was jolted as Tim Paine stepped down as the captain following his sexting scandal. His scandal came into the limelight after reports emerged and he himself accepted that he was involved in a text exchange with a then-colleague four years ago.
With Ashes 2021-22 around the corner, there are a lot of speculations about who’ll captain Australia in the longest format of the game. Being the vice-captain of the side while Pat Cummins is the front-runner to lead the side, some reports suggest that Steve Smith can also be handed over the responsibilities.
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English pacer James Anderson stressed that the only problem with bowlers being a captain is that they can't switch off as they do as a player. He remarked that as a skipper they can’t take the switch off and will have to watch the game and be in it.
"I think more bowlers should be captain. The only issue then is trying to get the time off - when you're off the field, you want to switch off, whereas if you're captain you've got to watch the game and be in it and you can't switch off maybe as much," Sydney Morning Herald quoted Anderson as saying.
Anderson remarked that bowlers think a lot about the game and Pat Cummins will be a good choice for the Australia captaincy as he’s the leader of the bowling attack and he’s got the ability.
He added that he, even as a bowler, is all up for all the "good stuff" that comes with captaincy like standing at slips and making the field changes.
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"Bowlers do think a lot about the game. We are thinking cricketers now. I think he'd be good at it. You can see he leads brilliantly in the team. He's a leader of the bowling attack and you can see he's got that ability, so why not give him a chance?
“There are lots of arguments why it would suit to have a bowler as captain, but it's just not the done thing, is it? Captains like to look good at first slip and look like they're making all the field-position changes and doing all the good stuff. But I'm all for it," he said.
Ashes 2021-22 will kick start on 8th December at the Gabba followed by the second Test match at Adelaide, Oval on 16th December.
The third and fourth Test match will be played on 26th December and 5th January at MCG and SCG respectively. The fifth and final Test match of the Ashes will take place on 14th January at Perth Stadium.
(ANI inputs)
