Pat Cummins was questioned once more a few weeks ago
regarding the Ashes series in England.
It “felt more like a one-dayer than Test matches
at different times,” he added. “Batters dominated, higher strike
rates, more white-ball problems you had to try and solve.” Which was
fantastic. I really liked it.
Although the pitch Cummins had for the first ball at
Edgbaston, with three boundary fielders, won’t be allowed against India in
Chennai on October 8, experience dealing with those ‘white-ball problems’ as
England’s Bazball batting line-up hurtled along at 4.74 per over might become
relevant in the coming month.
Following the T20 World Cup, Cummins’ first two games
in charge were against England in a dismal series. Josh Hazlewood led the team
as captain in Sydney for the middle game, and he sat out. After his mum passed
away in late March, Cummins missed the series in India and missed the most
recent South African matches owing to a wrist injury he sustained during the
Ashes.
While some of his absences from the role would not
have been planned, there was a certain broad acceptance when he was named
captain that he wouldn’t always be there – to the point where the significance
of him leading much before the World Cup was downplayed. “In our one-day
team, we do feel like we’ve got some strong leaders, some really experienced
members of the team, and some developing leaders,” Bailey said. “So
regardless of Pat being there, I think we are moving away from this concept of
a captain taking over and their leadership being all-encompassing.”
On the one hand, there are the traditional concerns
about how well a fast bowler can lead in a game that has many moving pieces but
isn’t quite as complex as T20 or as drawn out as Tests. A frontline bowler who
can perform the job is uncommon, much like in other formats. Mashrafe Mortaza,
who led Bangladesh in 2019, and Jason Holder, who did it for the West Indies in
2015 and 2019, are two of the few recent examples at the top level.
Since assuming the Test captaincy prior to the 2021–22
Ashes, Cummins has performed admirably, leading Australia to the World Test
Championship championship and being undefeated at home. However, by the
conclusion of the tough and exhausting Ashes, there were some cracks beginning
to show, especially when England was rattling away at ODI velocity at Old
Trafford.
Senior members of the team will do their best to
encourage him during this World Cup, especially Steven Smith and Mitchell
Marsh, who will fill in for them. “I believe Pat relies on his teammates
and other team leaders, which is one of his assets. Before departing for South
Africa, Marsh remarked, “He does an excellent job.
There must be a balance, though. A crowded room can
perhaps cause more damage than good. The topic of who was actually leading
Australia on the pitch was posed a few times throughout the Ashes, albeit more
frequently from the English side of the line.
But regardless of how things turn out over the coming
weeks, there is a good probability that Cummins’ ODI captaincy will come to an
end after this World Cup. His hiring was designed specifically with this
tournament in mind, and all indications point to the white-ball teams being
united under one captain after this event—likely Marsh.
However, if Cummins were to hoist the ODI World Cup
trophy in Ahmedabad on November 19, it would top off one of the better seasons
for an Australian captain after he held aloft the World Test Championship and
retained (if not won) the Ashes.