MANCHESTER – Australia manager Andrew McDonald has dismissed the prospect of Pat Cummins stepping down as Test captain after the Ashes’ continued run after the team struggled against England in the drawn Fourth Test at Old Trafford.
Cummins experienced his toughest moment since taking over in October, as England pressed for a series-level victory only to be thwarted by bad weather as Australia held on to the Ashes.
As Australia’s captain and fast bowler, Cummins looked helpless against the ferocious batting of Zack Crawley and Johnny Bairstow, while his short-pitch bowling trick came against England’s aggressive ‘baseball’ style.
Former Victoria captain Darren Berry has criticized Australia’s style and predicted Cummins, who lost a score of 5.6 in the match, would step down after the Final Test at The Oval starting on Thursday.
MacDonald called Perry’s comments “the most interesting”.
“What I would say is that leadership takes all different shapes and forms and we only live and die in the world of tactics,” the coach told reporters.
“I think it’s fair and reasonable to criticize some of the executions and the tactics we’ve implemented, but to go so far as to suggest the captain resign after the series, I think would be a bit far-fetched.
There are opinions we respect and there are opinions we don’t.
When asked if he thought Cummins had become an easy target, McDonald said: “We all work on the Australian cricket team together. It shouldn’t come down to the bat as an individual but unfortunately, as a captain, you wear that down sometimes.”
Cummins, who played all four matches of the series, denied the captaincy burden affected his performance with the ball.
“I don’t think (that was a problem),” Cummins said after the draw.
“It was just execution, I let more boundaries than I normally do. Maybe just a bad ball or two.”
– Reuters