Pat Cummins replaces Paine as Australian captain; new vice-captain announced

Fast bowler Pat Cummins has been named as Australian men’s cricket captain, replacing Tim Paine, who stepped down from the role recently. Former captain Steve Smith will be Australia’s vice-captain heading into the Ashes series. 

Cummins is honored and grateful for being named captain and has outlined what the team wishes to do going forward. 

“I am honored to accept this role ahead of what will be a massive Ashes summer. I hope I can provide the same leadership Tim (Paine) has given the group in the past few years. With Steve and I as captains, a number of very senior players in this squad, and some great young talent coming through, we are a strong and tightly-knit group. This is an unexpected privilege which I am very grateful for and am very much looking forward to,” said Cummins. 

With his appointment as captain, Cummins will become the first fast bowler to become permanent captain of the Australian men’s team. The 28-year-old captains his domestic side, New South Wales, while he has been the vice-captain of the Australian team since 2019. 

Cummins has taken over the role after Paine was embroiled in a texting scandal that took place a few years ago and came to light recently. He voluntarily resigned from his role and has decided to step back from all forms of cricket, citing a mental health break. 

“Following discussions over the last 24 hours, Tim Paine has advised Cricket Tasmania that he will be taking a leave of absence from all forms of cricket for the foreseeable future,” said a statement. 

Paine and an employee of Cricket Tasmania had sent explicit messages to each other in 2017, which he and his family had dealt with privately a few years ago. But, after a newspaper had printed the story last week, the Tasmanian cricketer stepped down from his captaincy role and made himself unavailable to Australia and his state, Tasmania. 

He took over the Australian captaincy in 2018 after the ball-tampering scandal, which resulted in Steve Smith getting banned. The turmoil within Australian cricket has come at an inopportune time as the Ashes series against arch-rivals England is set to commence in two weeks. 

Australia is the current holder of The Ashes trophy, having drawn the last series between the two sides in 2019. The Aussies had defeated England in the 2017-18 Ashes at home and they haven’t lost at home in The Ashes since 2010. The first of five Test matches in this year’s Ashes begins on December 8 at The Gabba in Brisbane.