Cricket Australia appoint Pat Cummins as ODI captain
Cricket Australia (CA) has chosen its next ODI captain, with Pat Cummins set to succeed Aaron Finch in the role. The right-arm speedster pipped opening batter David Warner and will captain Australia at next year's ODI World Cup in India.
Warner's name was floated as Finch's successor, but his lifetime ban from taking over as captain remains as CA considers changing its code of conduct.
CA is yet to appoint a vice-captain for the 50-over format.
The end of an era.
Aaron Finch walks off to a standing ovation 👏👏
#AUSvNZ https://t.co/gi1W6fwBpb
Addressing the 29-year-old's appointment, chief selector George Bailey was quoted as saying by cricket.com.au:
"Pat has done an excellent job since taking on the captaincy of the Test side and we look forward to him leading the one-day team to the 2023 World Cup in India."
The New South Wales pacer will be Australia's 27th ODI skipper and the first pacer to lead the men's side in limited-overs cricket. He is also the first bowler to lead Australia in the format since Shane Warne captained in 11 ODIs back in the '90s.
"Just playing every single game isn't realistic" - Pat Cummins
Before the massive announcement, Cummins revealed that it's unrealistic for the captain to play every game, given the ever-changing priorities. The Test skipper stated:
"You’d probably need to look at it a little bit differently to perhaps in the past with so much cricket going on, if I was offered it. Just playing every single game isn't realistic. We've got a handful of guys that play all three formats.
"In a year like this, T20 becomes the focus leading to a World Cup. Next year might be different with the one-day World Cup. But with 15 Test matches in the next six months, I don't think you can expect the captain to play every game just because he is the captain."
I feel incredibly honored, privileged and excited to be named the Australian Mens Test Captain.
I’ll be trying my best and can’t wait to get started at the Gabba in a couple of weeks!
Also very lucky to have my man @steve_smith49 alongside me as VC. #ashes https://t.co/iVPurweQP7
The Aussies will play three ODIs against England following the T20 World Cup.