England can laugh now, but winning back the urn has just got tougher
⮞ T20 World Cup win and the likely promotion of Cummins mean Australia will present even bigger challenge to Root
‘The Ashes are going ahead. The first Test is on Dec 8, whether Joe is here or not,” said Tim Paine last month.
It turns out that when the Ashes start at the Gabba in just under three weeks, Paine will be missing, not Joe Root.
News of Paine’s resignation stunned England at their training base in Queensland, and shocked Australia, where the Test captain is revered to such an extent he is prefixed with a number, like presidents of the United States (of which there have been 46, also Paine’s number). Paine was a calm father figure in the style of Joe Biden. Pat Cummins will almost certainly be No 47 and has the looks, image and modern outlook on climate change and sustainability that would make him a political powerbroker’s dream.
The fact he is the world’s best fast bowler helps, too. While England will be delighted to see their opponents in turmoil so close to the first Test, there is also a warning. The promotion of Cummins would make them stronger.
Even before Paine’s resignation, there were flashing red lights that the Ashes was having its galvanising effect on Australian cricket. The T20 World Cup win was a stunning performance for a bunch of players so recently disillusioned and fed up with the head coach, Justin Langer.
Worryingly for England, Langer appeared to have listened and tempered his controlling side.
“Everything has really been player-driven,” said pace bowler Josh Hazlewood after the World Cup final. “He’s probably taken a big back seat and let a lot of other staff play their roles, especially the players, to take a bit more ownership of what they’re doing in and around training and games.” Not many thought Langer capable of change, but the prospect of a home Ashes has worked, so far.
Given the nature of Paine’s resignation, Cricket Australia will want to appoint a player without baggage, so forget Steve Smith.
Cummins has captained New South Wales only in four one-day games and, as a fast bowler, has to break through the glass ceiling of being paid to slam his foot down on rock hard Australian pitches while batsmen make all the clever decisions.
There are always concerns over injuries with fast bowlers, but Cummins is a magnificent athlete and rarely misses games now. Australia do not play the same amount of Test cricket as England anyway. And why not rotate him in less high-profile series to give someone else a chance to taste leadership? It is one way of ensuring succession planning.
But that is for the future. Cummins, if appointed, will be at his strongest in his early days as captain against England, when he will be allowed to stamp his mark on the job. He will set the tone with the ball and, as the leading fast bowler, will have the responsibility of targeting Root, and taking down the England captain, which is always top priority and a fine way to establish his credentials.
Before yesterday, England would have seen the Australia captain as one they could dominate for once. Not now. Cummins can intimidate with the ball and the hosts have players who buy into a siege mentality. They will be ready to follow him.
A good start for England would have put intolerable pressure on Langer and Paine. An ageing captain and under-fire coach would have been big targets.
A new captain is given more time, especially one with Cummins’s talent and character. “He’s someone who oozes leadership,” said Travis Head, the batsman who was co-vice-captain alongside him. Cummins has a business degree and recently added a certificate in executive management to his CV, so he has grasp on the world outside dressing rooms. He is well read and has quietly built his reputation without looking like a destabilising influence, a player trying to nick the top job. “He’s a born leader. He’s 110 per cent all the time, whether the wicket is flat or not, and I admire that in a fast bowler. He’s a leader of men and they look up to him,” Dennis Lillee told the Cricket Australia website.
After the Paine years, Cummins will restore the ideal that Australia should be led by their best player.
We desperately need a good Ashes series after the events at Yorkshire, and the Root v Cummins battle provides the edge it
needed.