Asia

baptism of ashes by fire

December 8, 2021
Henry Club

In his first few days as Australia captain, Pat Cummins didn’t deviate from his long-held image. He was calm as well as serious. He spoke of human flaws and empathy, being kind and understanding towards people in difficult times. He flashed his trademark smile to say that the Australian captain was a human being and not a superhero. It was Pat Cummins as we knew him at Bullring since that morning in November 2011, when the fresh-faced teenager ripped through the most decorated South African batting line-up and engulfed the cricketing world’s consciousness.

Look beyond the veneer of sobriety, and you can see how carefully he has hidden the background of the turmoil. In a sense, making Cummins captain was the inevitable solution – and the only – to remove the chaos and confusion that followed the Tim Paine scandal. Not only that, if Cummins hadn’t been there, he would have had to assemble one in the attic of his famous game centers. There is no argument, or debate or doubt in his appointment. It is difficult to think of a more beloved Australian cricketer in recent times, not just in Australia, but across the cricket circuit. Rather it has distracted from what was before the Ashes – oddly there have been little verbal punches – the pacer who took charge of Australia after 64 years from Penn (Ray Lindwall, however, was the stand-in).

With a fresh start or a new era, there is a stream of new hope, although fundamentally, the focus of the team remains the same as in their previous Test series, the series against India at the beginning of the year.

But in cricket, more than any other sport, leadership matters. Not only from a strategic or team-philosophy standpoint, but how a team thinks, reacts, and believes. Although captains are essentially as good as the team, a good captain definitely imprints his personality on the team, not coercively but substantively. Like Steve Waugh, or MS Dhoni, and to a lesser extent Virat Kohli,

In Paine’s case, there were public and pundits who, before judging his captaincy credentials, thought fundamentally about the superiority of his cricket, whether he was the best wicket-keeper or wicket-keeper batsman available for Australia at the time. . But Cummins makes no such argument—that is Steve SmithThe finest Australian cricketer of his generation.

Whether he can be a good leader is a different question altogether, and one that can be seen from behind. Cummins himself accepts the new role as a leap into the unknown. “Some parts of it are tough, but you can’t stay in bed all day worrying about some of these things. There’s a lot of positives to this role, I can bring a lot to it,” he said at the press conference .

Even before he became captain, he was an influential figure on the field, someone who Paine essentially mentored in the middle, someone who his highly experienced colleagues often threw off ideas as well. But being an unknown leader and an official captain are very different departments. Especially for a heavy duty fast bowler like Cummins.

Fast bowling itself is the game’s most backbreaking profession, combine the task with leading a team, straight into the pan of the Ashes, it can be the stuff of nightmares. Suddenly, he can’t drift between overs, can’t take a breath after a long time, has to be in the game all the time, has to attend more boardroom meetings, engage himself more at the strategic table , a lot has to be done. Team-talk, attend more press conferences, make decisions.

And always defend the underperforming teammates and explain the reasoning behind a particular decision and so on. His thick crown of ash-blonde hair could become thin and grey, his wrinkle-free face could wither. Captains are twice as fast as others, or deteriorating as fast as on subcontinental pitches. That is why there have probably been some fast bowlers who have become captains. And less still those who prospered.

Imran Khan There certainly was, and to an extent the inexplicably low-key (as captain) was Wasim Akram.

Cummins understands the enormity of the Twins’ duties, and will undoubtedly be assisted by a corps of players. He is blessed in this way, with an abundance of experience on the side. Then there is Steve Smith, who can be more of a captain and less of a vice-captain. “There will be times in the field where I’ll throw Steve and you’ll see Steve moving the fielders around, maybe changing the bowling, taking on an advanced vice captaincy role. That’s what I really want, I have That’s what’s asked and I’m really happy that Steve is happy with that too. We’ll understand exactly how it works, it’s going to be a real collaborative approach,” he said at the prematch press conference.

The upgrade would be a significant step in Smith’s career, a re-integration into the leadership fold after the sandpaper incident three years earlier. This could be the first step in his journey to regain the captaincy in future. If Cummins fails or feels harshly duped, Australia will have no other option than Smith.

England has remained largely anonymous in the build-up, with a relentless focus on Cummins and Smith, and the still-hidden ghosts of Paine. Should they not retrieve the urn, they themselves face a change of leadership. “Absolutely it is (on the line), you see how tough it has been for English captains and English teams over the years. This is something that doesn’t happen very often. Of course it will define my captaincy, I’m not naive enough to think it won’t,” said Root, who has lost two of his last three Tests, and 2 in the unfinished series against India. 1 is behind.

England’s crisis

Although buoyed by the return of Ben Stokes, Root will be weakened by an injury to James Anderson, who will be ruled out of the first Test, and the continued absence of Jofra Archer. The batting order is unstable and the bowling group, except for Anderson and Stuart Broad, has not been tested even in Australian conditions. But they have played more Tests than Australia this year (13-2), although they would ideally like some practice games to fit themselves to the frequency of Australian conditions.

But if Australia experience any complacency ahead of the series, the sight of Gabba will wake them up. The last time they played a Test here, they lost to second-tier India. Captain Penn then dubbed the defeat a “life lesson”. In an ironic twist of fate, it’s down to his successor, Cummins, to put those life lessons into practice. The prelude to the Ashes, apart from the usual spice and lack of theatrics, has been utterly Cummins-centric. And it would take one hell of an artist to pull her attention away from him.

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