"Who's his replacement?" - Ian Chappell tears into critics of Pat Cummins' captaincy after the fourth Ashes Test
Former Australian skipper Ian Chappell asserted Pat Cummins was the right choice for captaincy despite questioning his tactics during the ongoing Ashes series.
Despite Australia retaining the Ashes with a drawn fourth Test at Manchester, several experts and fans have criticized Cummins for his tactical blunders during the Ashes. He was heavily scrutinized for his short-ball tactic with deep fielders during England's first innings in the Manchester Test.
Led by a blazing 189 from Zak Crawley in addition to a quick-fire 99* and 84 from Jonny Bairstow and Joe Root, the hosts posted a mammoth 592, scoring at 5.50 runs per over. After heavy showers on Day 4 and a washout on Day 5 prevented England from leveling the series at 2-2, Cummins came under severe criticism for his tactics.
Speaking to Channel 9, Chappell questioned Australia's plans but also maintained Pat Cummins was the right choice to lead the side. He blasted the other senior players for not assisting Cummins with the tactics.
"Well, it's easy to sack someone but you've got to replace him with someone better. So, who's his replacement? I think Pat Cummins was the right choice. Some of his tactics in this series I would question, but the fact that none of the senior players have been speaking up and saying, 'Mate, this is stupid' Where the hell are they?. I think Pat Cummins was the right choice at the time and I haven't seen a reason to promote another captain," said Chappell.
"You don't want too many cooks; the captain has to run the show. But if you're doing something that's not very smart it's up to the senior players to speak up and let him know, 'Mate, this is silly, let's try something else'. I didn't see any of that. Whether there's a whole lot of people putting their bib in, I dunno; you don't know that unless you're there," added Chappell.
Despite the unapologetic skepticism, Pat Cummins' record as a captain remains unimpeachable. The 30-year-old led Australia to a series win in Pakistan in 2022 and the top of the points table in the 2021-2023 World Test Championship (WTC) cycle.
Cummins also led the Aussies to the WTC crown in the summit clash against India, followed by Australia retaining the urn in the ongoing Ashes heading into the final Test at the Oval.
"The performances have been going downhill" - Ian Chappell
Ian Chappell stated that Australia's performances throughout the Ashes series have drastically gone down despite the side leading the series 2-1 after the fourth Test at Manchester.
The former skipper was especially critical of the bouncer tactic with several deep fielders and added that both teams were guilty of overusing the short-ball theory.
"The performances have been going down hill. I mean, the bouncer barrage is stupidity. What's the definition of insanity? When you keep doing the same thing and expect a different result. Both sides have done it a bit. The first thing you've got to do ... certainly in Test cricket is you've got to keep trying to get guys out. If you put nine on the boundary that's really not designed to get people out — not good batsmen out anyhow," said Chappell.
Chappell was also disappointed with Australia conceding too many easy singles early in the innings to most English batters.
"And the other thing is if you're going to give good players easy singles early in their innings, that's also not designed to have great success.Some of the tactics I've thought have been pretty silly. They got away with it in this Test, but you can't keep getting away with it," added Chappell.
Despite the shallow feeling post the Manchester draw, Australia have retained the Ashes urn for a third consecutive time.
They will now look to become the first Aussie side to win a Test series in England since 2001 during the final Test at the Oval, starting Thursday, July 27.