Australia appoint Pat Cummins as Test skipper, Steve Smith named vice-captain
Steve Smith, Pat Cummins (Photo by JEREMY NG/AFP via Getty Images)
Cricket Australia (CA) have named pacer Pat Cummins as the captain of the Test team. The 28-year-old will thus become the first fast bowler to lead Australia in 144-year history. He will succeed Tim Paine as the captain, who had earlier quit from the post following a sexting scandal. Meanwhile, Steve Smith has been named vice-captain of the team. Cummins will become the 47th player to lead Australia in the longest format. The 28-year-old said he is honored to lead the country. “I am honored to accept this role ahead of what will be a massive Ashes summer,” Cummins said in a statement. “This is an unexpected privilege which I am very grateful for and am very much looking forward to.”
Cummins does not have prior leadership experience of captaining teams. He, however, has some experienced players like Steve Smith, David Warner, Josh Hazlewood, and Mitchell Starc who can help him with their valuable inputs. Cummins said the presence of senior players will help him in his leadership stint.
“I hope I can provide the same leadership Tim (Paine) has given the group in the past few years. With Steve and I as captains, a number of very senior players in this squad, and some great young talent coming through we are a strong and tightly knit group,” Cummins added.
Meanwhile, Tim Paine has taken an indefinite break from all forms of cricket. This effectively rules him out from the upcoming Ashes.
