Cummins wants to audition before taking up Australia’s captaincy

Sydney [Australia], February 4 (ANI): Australia pacer Pat Cummins on Thursday said that he would want to gain some experience as a leader first before taking up the role of captain.
Australia suffered a 2-1 win defeat at the hands of India in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy and since then there have been few calls to replace Tim Paine as the Test captain. Cummins is currently the vice-captain and he is in line to be the next leader of the Australian cricket team.
“Absolutely – at the moment I have not got too much experience at all, just a couple of warm-up games in England and other than that it is Under-16s cricket when I last captained. So, for sure, it is something that is going to be more on the radar. Even to increase my experience as vice-captain if I ever need to step in or help out Painey or Finchy, I think it is something I would like to have a crack at to find out either way, whether I enjoy it, whether I am no good at it or whether I find it manageable,” ESPNCricinfo quoted Cummins as saying.
The world number one Test bowler also highlighted how his bowling can change if he becomes the leader of Australia going ahead in his career. Cummins had finished as the leading wicket-taker in the four-match Test series against India.
“I think that would be the big one, at times, just the nature of not having to totally switch on, you take the opportunity to switch off. That would probably be the biggest change, but whether that is a dealbreaker or not, I would have to try it first I think. Naturally, you try to stay pretty involved in a game, so always thinking about the game in the background. Just taking that extra step to be a decision-maker, it might be a small step or a big step, but keen to give it a crack and see how it goes,” said Cummins.
“Just because someone is captain does not mean they are not allowed to lean on other resources, and something about my teams, whether it is NSW or the Aussie team, there are lots of experienced guys there who have played a lot of cricket. Of course you have got specialised coaches in the sheds who you spend a lot of time with, so you are certainly not out there by yourself, like all leaders you have got to delegate at certain times, give certain people certain roles. I am sure you could find a way if you have to,” he added.
Australia’s three-match Test tour of South Africa was postponed on Tuesday due to an ‘unacceptable’ coronavirus risk. The Australian board had said that traveling from Australia to South Africa at this current time would have had an unacceptable level of health and safety risk to the visiting players.
As the series between Australia and South Africa got postponed, the ICC on Tuesday confirmed that New Zealand has now become the first team to qualify for the finals of the World Test Championship (WTC). India, Australia, and England are the other three teams that will be fighting it out to battle against the Kiwis in the summit clash. (ANI)