The position of Test cricket captain is arguably the most-respected job in the country – a job that predates the first Prime Minister, and one that, particularly in the sporting world, is more scrutinised than any other.
Pat Cummins says he’s ready to have that scrutiny, but also used his first press conference as skipper to call for more kindness and understanding from fans and media alike.
The NSW fast bowler comes into the role as a beloved player and contributor, and was immediately asked if he was prepared for being further under the magnifying class as the leader of the team.
“That doesn’t worry me too much. I know with the role comes added scrutiny – for ten or 11 years I’ve been playing for Australia in the public eye,” he said.
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“I won’t always get things right, I’m certainly not perfect, there’s going to be things that pop up but as long as I can sleep at night I’m really comfortably with the responsibility of all that.”
Cummins replaces Tim Paine as captain, with Steve Smith named the new vice-captain.
“When it comes to moral character, I’m probably my own harshest critic and judge on that,” Cummins said.
“I’ve had some great conversations with Richard [Cricket Australia chair Richard Freudenstein] and Nick [CA CEO Nick Hockley] and they’ve just reiterated their strong support for me, and the players, and the staff around here.”
Cummins did say he wasn’t overly comfortable about the position being consistently put on a pedestal.
“A lot of the pressure and the responsibility of being perfect is unreasonable, I think it’s too much to ask of anyone,” he said.
“You’ve got to have permission to grow. We’re going to have players come into our side who are teenagers, who are just out of school, who are growing up. They’ve got to be able to fail and know that they’re allowed to grow from that.
“At times, that sends a bad message, that everyone’s perfect and nobody’s got any flaws. I’m certainly going to be standing up for players if they make some minor mistakes – they’re opportunities to grow from.
“We’ve got to manage our expectations of everyone a little bit more – I think we’ve got to be a bit kinder and a bit more understanding at times.”
Cummins becomes the 47th captain of the men’s Test cricket team, and the first fast bowler to do so in nearly 60 years.
“I think there’s a couple more unknowns about having a bowling captain,” he acknowledged.
“From the outset, I was absolutely determined if I was captain, to have someone like Steve next to me.”
Cummins said he feels experienced enough to deal with the combined workload of being both a bowler and a tactician.
“I’m feeling overall excitement, as opposed to being too nervous about what might happen.”
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