Pat Cummins puts subtle pressure on Jasprit Bumrah as captains face off ahead of Perth Test

Pat Cummins’ revelation that it took him 10 Test matches to feel at home as a fast bowling captain has put subtle pressure on Jasprit Bumrah to deliver the performance of his life.

Pat Cummins’ revelation that it took him 10 Test matches to feel at home as a fast bowling captain has put subtle pressure on Jasprit Bumrah to deliver the performance of his life.

A showdown of two fast bowling skippers is one of the rarest match-ups in world cricket, and in Perth the battle between the ears and through the air of two all-time greats will define a Border-Gavaskar opener to be played on a sun-deprived, moisture-filled and green Optus Stadium deck.

Bumrah has been thrust into the hot seat to replace Rohit Sharma and lead an undermanned and out of sorts Indian team, declaring he will not be bound by any conventional text books and will instead put total faith in his gut instincts to try and stage a critical upset.

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Australia captain Pat Cummins and Indian counterpart Jasprit Bumrah pose with the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. Picture: Getty Images

Until Cummins faced off against New Zealand’s Tim Southee earlier this year, Wasim Akram versus Courtney Walsh in the late 1990s and Imran Khan clashing with Bob Willis in the early 1980s were the only other recent examples of fast bowling captains going head-to-head.

Bumrah has captained in a Test once previously, but Cummins warned that mastering the balance between leadership and spearheading the attack does not happen automatically.

“I’d say (it took) maybe a summer or so, maybe 10 Test matches until you’re fully comfortable,” Cummins said on Thursday, as a first decision looms over whether or not this is a bowl-first wicket.

“But I don’t think I particularly changed too much over those 10 Test matches.

“Your intuition gets a little bit stronger, but even when I was really new to it I’ve obviously got wonderful teammates who are helping you out. So you never really feel like you’re out there alone.

“I think the question is always, ‘are you bowling too much, or not enough?’ Again, (it’s) gut feel. Speak to some other people out there and come up with a decision.”

Pat Cummins said it took 10 games captaining Australia before he was fully comfortable. Picture: Getty Images

Former Test bowler and outstanding NSW Sheffield Shield captain Geoff Lawson is fascinated by the match-up because he feels Cummins and Bumrah are remarkably “similar” as two of the most charismatic figures in the game.

Lawson also feels vindicated as someone who has often been a lone advocate traditional cricketing wisdom that only batsmen could make captains being a complete myth.

“It’s put a few people back in their place who just wanted batsmen,” Lawson told this masthead.

“It seemed to be a historical perspective rather than a practical one.

“In many ways they’re quite similar characters. Both outstanding at their skill, both competitive, and they can lead from the front with what they do with the new ball. They’re two peas out of that pod.”

Former Indian captain Sunil Gavaskar said he loved his years playing under bowling all-rounder captain Kapil Dev and against Imran Khan and agreed that bowling skippers have a better grasp on managing the length of bowling spells than batsmen.

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India’s Jasprit Bumrah is among the world’s most devastating bowlers. Picture: AFP

Bumrah – arguably the world’s most devastating fast bowler – is adamant he can be become an even more dangerous wicket-taker when he is in charge of his own destiny.

Like Cummins, Bumrah is determined to do the job his way.

“I love responsibility. I wanted to do the tough job since I was a child,” Bumrah said.

“You always want to be in the thick of things, you want to be thrown against tough scenarios.

“This is another one that adds a new challenge to me.

“I’ve never followed a copybook plan … I’ve never followed a model and I go with my instincts and that’s how I’ve always played my cricket.

“I have a lot of faith in my instincts and gut, so that is what I go with and tactically as a bowler you always make a lot of plans.

“I can manage myself the best when I am the captain because I know when I am fresh, when I have to push myself and I know when I have to take extra responsibility.

“Obviously there are different challenges but there are advantages as well, and I look at the advantage that I understand bowling so you understand when the wicket is changing, what changes you have to make, what field settings are good at this moment and obviously bowlers do a lot more research and data driven as well than batters because that’s how the game is headed.

‘So I look at the positives more than the negatives.”

Originally published as Pat Cummins puts subtle pressure on Jasprit Bumrah as captains face off ahead of Perth Test