Tim Paine quits: Pat Cummins backed to become Australia’s next Test captain

One of Australia’s greatest captains says selectors risk undermining one of Test cricket’s most-important roles if it appoints anyone other than Pat Cummins as captain.

Test great Allan Border believes Australia must respect its time honoured chain of command and appoint Pat Cummins its new captain.

Cummins is poised to become the first specialist fast man to lead Australia in a Test since Ray Lindwall did it on a one-off basis against India in 1956.

His unexpected promotion is set to come for the December 8 Ashes opener against England following the resignation of Tim Paine after a sexting scandal.

Australia has a long held theory that it wants its fast men to bowl their hearts out and rest their body and minds between times without the burden of leadership but Cummins will break the mould.

“Pat has to be named captain now otherwise there is no point in having a vice-captain,‘’ Border told News Corp in referenc eto the deputy post Cummins has held beneath Tim Paine.

Australia’s likely choice of Cummins comes after the CA board received feedback that his performance as a vice-captain has been excellent.

Pat Cummins has been endorsed to be Aussie captain by Allan Border.

Australia will consider several options as vice-captain including Steve Smith with former CA board member and Test fast man Michael Kasprowicz feeling it would be unlikely the current board would have any lingering animosity to Smith over Sandpapergate.

Smith was banned from national leadership positions for two years after the Cape Town ball tampering affair but Australia’s selectors were last season given permission to appoint him to a leadership position in the event of an emergency.

While there is a feeling that reinstating him as captain may be a step too far, the vice-captaincy would be a better fit.

“It‘s pretty rare for Australia to be in a position to have someone ready made with so much experience,’’ Kasprowicz said.

“As an older, wiser skipper I think he can offer so much. You would like to think he has grown up.

“It reminds me of when Allan Border came back to Queensland as a senior player and the help he gave Stuart Law when he was captain. If they feel Smith is the man (to be vice-captain) it could work well.‘’

Pat Cummins will have lots to ponder if he’s named Australian skipper.

The options beyond Smith for the vice-captaincy include Travis Head, if he wins the No 5 spot ahead of Usman Khawaja, and Marnus Labuschagne.

Head is a former vice-captain but a more natural fit for a new skipper like Cummins, who has done minimal captaincy at senior level, might be an old sweat like Smith who has seen the game from all angles.

Revealed: Selectors’ plea to bring Smith back into captaincy fold

Ben Horne

Pat Cummins is set to be named Australia’s next Test captain, but a secret approach from selectors to the board last season has kept the leadership door open for Steve Smith.

Given the history of the ball tampering scandal, News Corp can reveal selectors at the time were eager to know how a nomination of Smith would theoretically be received if an emergency was to occur such as a last-minute Tim Paine injury.

It doesn’t change the looming inevitability now that Cummins is all but certain to be announced as Paine’s successor in the coming days, but the fact selectors last summer were given an official green light by the board to ponder Smith – paves the way for him to be considered vice-captain.

Appointing Smith as Cummins’ deputy is a move that cricket insiders feel would provide vital support should Australia have its first fast bowling skipper since Ray Lindwall in the 1950s.

It’s understood informal conversations about Cummins as the next Test captain had already taken place well before Paine’s bombshell resignation, in case the wicketkeeper didn’t recover from throat surgery in time to be passed fit for the Ashes.

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But Smith is also in the leadership conversation, and even a return to the vice-captaincy would be a significant comeback for the batsman following his two-year ban after the Cape Town scandal.

Former selector Mark Waugh said Cummins captain, Smith vice-captain was the ideal combination.

“(Cummins) is the frontrunner. He’s vice-captain and there’s been a lot of talk about him taking over from Tim Paine sooner rather than later without this incident,” said Waugh on 2GB Drive.

“Steve Smith might be a good vice-captain. He has experience there and he’s someone to lean on.”

Steve Smith leads Australia onto the field as captain.

Australian Ashes batsman Travis Head — a former vice-captain himself — said he expected Cummins would be his captain at the Gabba.

“Obviously Pat’s been well spoken about, named as vice-captain, it’s hard to go past him,” said Head.

“He’s someone who oozes leadership, not only in the way he presents himself and speaks and the way he goes about things and the way he trains, but also when he’s on the field.”

Former Australian captain Michael Clarke was the first high profile name to back Cummins as the country’s next Test captain, but said the 28-year-old quick would need all experienced hands on deck to support him – including Smith.

Selectors are keen to reinstate Steve Smith as a leader.

“I think Smithy, Davey Warner, Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon, Josh Hazlewood, these guys all have a leadership role to play if Pat Cummins is to be the next captain. Patty is going to need all of them. All of the senior players are going to be required,” Clarke told News Corp earlier in the week before Paine’s resignation.

“That’s why I feel like the time would be right for Pat Cummins because he has these senior players around him and I think that would be significant for Patty with his workloads and certainly (getting his head around) what it takes to captain Australia.”

High profile figures like Mark Taylor and Glenn McGrath have been supportive of Smith once again assuming the captaincy, despite the scars of the ball tampering scandal.

News Corp opinion polls have flipped as the time has passed since Cape Town 2018, and more recent feedback from fans has suggested they would support Smith returning as skipper.

However, it is felt the time is right for Cummins to take the reins and it’s hoped Smith will embrace the responsibility of being vice-captain if it’s offered to him.

Smith could play a crucial role in setting fields and being the eyes and ears when Cummins is bowling.

Given Cummins’ is a risk to be rested on occasions at Test level, Smith’s experience to stand in when required would also be a key consideration.