Pat Cummins has opened up on Steve Smith‘s move back into the Australian middle order, admitting the former captain is “best suited” not facing the new ball.
The 35-year-old filled in at the end of last summer after the retirement of David Warner, achieving mixed results alongside Usman Khawaja at the top of the order.
But with an injury to Cameron Green and a desire to see out his Test career in the No.4 spot, Smith will return to the role where he found his greatest success.
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Speaking to 9News Sydney ahead of next month’s Test series against India on home soil, Cummins revealed the conversations over Smith’s role had been going for months.
“Yeah we had a chat … we probably still hadn’t made our mind up and we knew there was a bit of water to go under the bridge,” he said.
“Also with Cam’s injury and a few rounds of Shield games … we chatted about it and I think it makes sense now.
“He was really excited by the challenge of opening last year and he’s really glad he did it, but I think after giving it a go, he thought he was best suited at four.”
Smith’s switch will open the door for a new opener to join the line-up, with young gun Sam Konstas emerging as a genuine option after back-to-back Sheffield Shield tons.
The 19-year-old is one of the best young talents in the country and Cummins hinted that it’s all about consistency in first-class cricket for the Sutherland product.
“I’ve seen a little bit of Sam,” he said.
“He obviously played really well last week, but he’s young and you really don’t know what someone is made of until they’re out there.
“If you keep scoring runs and doing well in domestic cricket it sets you up pretty well.”
Cummins will lead the Test team this summer in a five-game Border-Gavasker Trophy series and is hoping to defeat India in a series for the first time in his career.
“I think that’s probably the one thing I haven’t ticked … hopefully if you ask again in a few months we will have ticked it off,” he said.
Cummins may then miss some Tests against Sri Lanka to focus on the birth of his second child.