"England will view any potential upheaval to their advantage" - Michael Atherton dissects the impact of Pat Cummins' possibility as captain
Former England captain Michael Atherton shared his thoughts on the possibility of Pat Cummins becoming Australia's Test captain. Pat Cummins remains the frontrunner to take charge as Tim Paine stepped down under controversial circumstances, followed closely by Steve Smith.
Tim Paine resigned as Test captain in an emotional press conference on Friday. He apologized for sending explicit messages to a female colleague in 2017. However, the 36-year-old made himself available as a player for the upcoming Ashes series.
Endorsed by Dennis Lillee and Steve Waugh as Australia's Test captain-in-waiting, Pat Cummins' time may have arrived far sooner than anyone anticipated cricket.com.au/news/pat-cummi…
Writing in his column for the Times, Michael Atherton feels Pat Cummins is a promising candidate, capable of performing well with the ball and leading well. The 53-year old stated:
"Australia now find themselves without a captain less than three weeks before the opening Ashes Test in Brisbane. Pat Cummins, the 28-year-old fast bowler from New South Wales, is the vice-captain and is almost certain to be given the job for the series. As well as being a brilliant bowler, ranked No 1 in the world in Tests and one of the fastest, Cummins is an intelligent, widely admired character, with an interesting hinterland that includes a business degree, and is someone who is expected to provide sound leadership off the field."
However, Atherton recalled Cummins' statement about the fast bowlers' rotation throughout the five Tests. Hence, he sees the 28-year-old's ascendancy to leadership as advantageous to England.
"While Cummins seems now to have got over the injuries that dogged him as a young man, he said recently said that he did not expect Australia’s feared pace attack — Cummins himself, Josh Hazlewood and Mitchell Starc — to play in all those five Tests. What then is Australia’s plan B if rest, rotation or injury strikes? England will view any potential upheaval to their advantage."
While Cummins, the vice-captain, is likely to become the skipper, Steve Smith also holds a slight upper hand due to his experience. Unlike David Warner, Smith became eligible for the captaincy a year after his ball-tampering ban ended.
"Fast bowling is ferociously hard work without the additional strain of captaincy" - Michael Atherton
Atherton also observed that Australia last had a frontline bowler as captain back in 1956 when Ray Lindwall held it. Atherton feels fast bowling and captaincy can be a struggle.
"The last time an out-and-out fast bowler captained Australia in Test cricket? Go back more than six decades to Ray Lindwall in 1956. Cummins is sharp and intelligent, but fast bowling is ferociously hard work without the additional strain of captaincy."
The New South Wales speedster has been one of the most consistent bowlers in the last two years. Cummins was also the highest wicket-taker in the previous two Ashes series, picking up 23 and 29 scalps in five Tests.
Cummins has also been the nemesis of England's star batsman and captain Joe Root. He has dismissed Root seven times combined in the 2017-18 and 2019 Ashes series.