Australia vice-captain for England tour: The Australian selectors have made their premier fast bowler as the only vice-captain for imminent tour.
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The Australian selectors have returned back to the traditional approach of naming one captain and vice-captain each for an Australian squad. It is worth mentioning that Australia had development a knack of naming two vice-captains across formats in the last year or so.
While fast bowler Pat Cummins and batsman Travis Head were the designated co vice-captains to Tim Paine in the Test team, Cummins and wicket-keeper batsman Alex Carey used to play the same role for Aaron Finch in white-ball cricket.
“After taking advice and reviewing the leadership of the squad we have decided to revert back to the traditional captain and one vice-captain set-up,” chairman of selectors Trevor Hohns said after announcing Australia’s 21-member squad for the tour of England in September.
Australia vice-captain for England tour
The development now means that only Cummins will officially play the role of Finch’s deputy in ODIs and T20Is from now on. Further talking about the change, Hohns mentioned that Carey will continue to be a “genuine leader” and that the move isn’t a reflection of “succession planning”.
“Alex [Carey] remains a genuine leader within the squad and will continue to provide valuable support to Aaron [Finch] as skipper. Pat [Cummins] is very much in the same category and someone the entire squad has immense respect for as a person and a player.
“This is not a reflection of succession planning, but rather a decision to return to the traditional leadership set-up that has served Australian cricket so well for generations,” Hohns said.
Other than Finch, Cummins and Carey, Australia also have the likes of tried and tested senior names in David Warner, Steve Smith, Glenn Maxwell and Nathan Lyon who can provide able suggestions to the captain as and when required.
“We now have quite an established and experienced senior playing group who all play an important role in the leadership of the team on and off the field. As has always been the case all senior players have a strong voice in all aspects of planning, preparation and playing,” Hohns added.
