Brisbane: Australia’s test skipper Pat Cummins has been appointed captain of the one-day international team to replace Aaron Finch, getting the job ahead of veteran opener David Warner. Cricket Australia announced on Tuesday that pace bowler Cummins would take on the extra leadership role, starting with an ODI series against England next month.
Finch, the opening batter who remains captain of Australia’s Twenty20 team at least until the T20 World Cup finishes next month, retired from ODI cricket last month. He is expected to lead Australia into the World Cup in the 50-over format in India late next year. ‘I have thoroughly enjoyed playing under Finchy and have learnt an enormous amount from his leadership’, Cummins said. ‘They are significant shoes to fill”, although we are extremely fortunate to have a one-day squad with a huge amount of experience’.
Warner was barred from leading a national team for the part he played in the so-called Sandpapergate scandal in South Africa in March 2018, when Australia batter Cameron Bancroft was caught by television cameras trying to rough up one side of the ball in a test match against South Africa at Cape Town. Bancroft was suspended by Cricket Australia for nine months. Steve Smith and David Warner, who were captain and vice-captain at the time, were banned for 12 months. Both returned to the national team in 2019 and Cricket Australia recently said it was reviewing Warner’s leadership suspension because of his positive impact on the team. Smith and Warner were both also considered candidates to replace Finch as ODI captain.
‘We are very fortunate to have a number of high-quality leaders and senior players across all formats’, Cricket Australia’s high performance manager boss Oliver said, and added, ‘The board and selectors agree Pat is the ideal choice to lead the ODI team through the next period including the 2023 World Cup’.
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