Melbourne: Fast Bowler Pat Cummins has been named 47th Captain of the Australia test team on Friday instead of Tim Paine, who was down the position last week due to the “sexting scandal”
Paine resigned after it was revealed that he was investigated and acquitted for sexually explicit text messages to a former colleague four years ago.
Cummins, 28, becomes only the second specialist fast pitcher to take the captain’s armband after Ray Lindwall, who tested against India in the mid-1950s.
“I am honoured to simply accept this role previous what’s going to be a vast Ashes summer,” said Cummins in a statement. “I hope I will offer an equivalent leadership Tim has given the cluster within the past few years.
“With Steve (Smith) and me as captains, some very experienced players on the team and some great young talent emerging, we are a strong and very close-knit group.”
As vice-captain, Cummins was the plain option to replace Paine and his appointment permits a fast transition with the beginning of the Ashes series against England lower than period of time away.
Smith replaces Cummins as vice-captain, returning to a proper leadership role once serving a 12-month ban and a biennial leadership suspension within the wake of the Newlands ball-tampering scandal in 2018.
Popular, telegenic and personable in public, Cummins has taken on the role of Australia’s premier race leader in recent seasons and tops the ICC bowling test rankings.
Even before Paine’s embarrassing resignation, a parade of former players and pundits had endorsed Cummins as Australia’s pending captain, despite former skipper Smith’s hopes of returning to the role.
“I just think Pat Cummins has become an integral part of this team and has grown in his knowledge of the game and the experiences he has had,” former wicket keeper and Australian captain Adam Gilchrist told Reuters last week.
Cummins can have lots of support to contact within the team, though Paine has taken an indefinite mental state break.
Whereas he takes on the post before planned, he has served one thing of a billet as New South Wales skipper in the domestic one-day competition.
The 47th captain of the Australian men's Test cricket team! @patcummins30 🇦🇺 pic.twitter.com/bM4QefTATt
— Cricket Australia (@CricketAus) November 26, 2021
