Pat Cummins to lead Australia in Ashes, Steve Smith appointed vice-captain

Pat Cummins has been officially appointed the Captain of Australian side for the upcoming Ashes, with the former captain Steve Smith to take the role of vice-captain.
 
The pair of Cummins and Smith were the favorites for taking the captaincy role ever since it Tim Paine announced he is stepping down from that job. Many Australian greats of the game had suggested Cummins is the “Perfect Good Guy” for the job. Eventually, Cummins agreed to take up the role insisting that he wants Steve Smith by his side as vice-captain.
Cummins – Smith is very central to my style of captaincy
“I think there’s a couple of more unknowns about having a bowling captain and that’s why from the outset I was absolutely determined if I was captain to have someone like Steve as vice-captain next to me,” Cummins said. “I feel like I’ve got quite a lot of experience to draw on. A lot of the problems or potential issues around being a fast-bowling captain I’m sure we’ll be able to work through.
 
“Obviously, it’s not our decision who is captain and vice-captain. I made it pretty clear that if I was given the captaincy that this is how I saw the team running and I tried to bring Steve along for that as well. He’s so central to how I see my captaincy style but [also] how I see the team functioning.”
Smith admits that his role might not be acceptable to all
Having been sacked previously from the captaincy role, not many are a fan of Steve Smith as a captain now. The 32-year-old addressed this issue, saying he has grown as a person ever since the ball-tampering incident.
 
“I think there will be some negativity from some people about it,” he said. “I understand that and I get that. But for me, I know that I’ve grown a great deal over the last three or four years. I’m a more rounded individual and in turn I think it’s turned me into a better leader.”
Smith will have an elevated vice-captaincy role
Cricketing history has never seen a fast bowler lead a side. For most of the history. Lasith Malinga, the former Sri Lankan pacer, is the only notable fast bowler who lead his side for a notable period of time. The reason behind fast bowlers not being preferred for captaincy role is the burden of workload. Bowling long spells, making field changes, bowling changes at the same time sure is a lot of responsibilities to juggle. 
 
“There’s going to be times where I’m out in the middle, it’s a hot day, I’m in the middle of a spell and I need to turn to people for advice, for tactics, for experience and that’s the main reason, one of the big reasons why I wanted Steve to be vice-captain,” Cummins said. “How that looks? I think it potentially could look differently to [how] you’ve seen partnerships work in the past. I think that will remain pretty fluid.
 
“A 22-degree day might look differently to a 40-degree day. There will be times on the field where I’ll throw to Steve and you’ll see Steve move fielders around, maybe doing bowling changes, taking a bit more of an elevated vice-captaincy role and that’s what I really want.
 
“That’s what I’ve asked and I’m really glad Steve is happy with that as well. We’ll nut out exactly how that works, but it’s going to be a real collaborative approach. Steve has got such huge strength especially around tactically out on the field.”
 

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