Sports News | Fast Bowler Pat Cummins is New Australia Cricket Captain
Get latest articles and stories on Sports at LatestLY. Pat Cummins has been named the first fast bowler to captain Australia's Test cricket team on a fulltime basis and former skipper Steve Smith returns from leadership wilderness to become the team's vice captain.
Melbourne, Nov 26 (AP) Pat Cummins has been named the first fast bowler to captain Australia's Test cricket team on a fulltime basis and former skipper Steve Smith returns from leadership wilderness to become the team's vice captain.
Cricket Australia made both announcements on Friday. Cummins, who had been vice captain, replaces Tim Paine, who resigned last week over a sex-texting scandal four years ago.
The last fast bowler to lead Australia at test level was Ray Lindwall for a single match in 1956, and only as a stand-in. Cummins is Australia's 47th Test captain.
Smith was fired from the captaincy after the ball-tampering scandal in South Africa in 2018. As well as losing the captaincy, he was banned from any leadership roles for two years.
"I am honoured to accept this role ahead of what will be a massive Ashes summer," Cummins said in a statement.
"I hope I can provide the same leadership Tim (Paine) has given the group in the past few years."
The first of five Ashes Tests against England begins on December 8 in Brisbane.
"Pat is an outstanding player and leader," Cricket Australia chief executive Nick Hockley said.
"He has earned enormous respect from his teammates and from all corners of the game for his attitude and achievements, both on and off the field." AP
(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)