After the controversial exclusion of previous captain Tim Paine, Pat Cummins was named as Australia’s Test captain and he couldn’t have asked for a better start to his captaincy career. It’s incredible how smooth the transition has been. The new framework with Steven Smith was a success, and it was put into operation right away in Adelaide.
If there were any slips by Cummins, they occurred in Sydney, and were small in the grand scheme of things. The fact that England were bowled out for less than 200 runs in six of their ten innings (and under 150 three times) meant there weren’t many hard hours in the field, but they will come. With a five-man attack at his disposal, he will always be able to call on a new bowler.
Cummins makes his way in record books
- Cummins is the first skipper to take five wickets in the Men’s Ashes since Bob Willis took 5 for 66 against the hosts at the Gabba in 1982. Cummins is also the first Australian captain to take five wickets in the Ashes since Richie Benaud’s six-wicket haul at the Gabba in 1962.
- In Men’s Test cricket, Pat Cummins became only the second Australian to take a five-wicket haul on his captaincy debut. In his first Test as captain in Melbourne in 1894, George Giffen took 6 for 155 in England’s second innings. Overall, Cummins is the 14th player to take five wickets in his Men’s Test captaincy debut and the first since Rashid Khan, who took five wickets in both innings against Bangladesh in 2019.
The ‘golden touch’ of Pat Cummins
Each of Pat Cummins’ decisions, from starting Travis Head ahead of Usman Khawaja in the first match to bringing Scott Boland in the Boxing Day encounter, was like a golden touch that couldn’t go wrong. Cummins was spot on with everything, from bowling changes to squad composition. The team atmosphere appears to be considerably better under Cummins’ leadership since everyone appears to like him.
What next for him
It’s safe to say that his bowling hasn’t borne the brunt of his added responsibilities as captain, at least in the near term. Cummins’ next assignment as captain will take place in March when Australia travel to Pakistan for a three-Test series. Despite his dream start, he has already stated that he does not intend to captain the team for the rest of his career.