After Aaron Finch announced his retirement from the 50-over format on Tuesday, Australia’s Test captain Pat Cummins was named the team’s one-day captain. The fast bowler acknowledged that he had “big shoes to fill.” The team will be guided by the 29-year-old Cummins to the ODI World Cup in India in 2019. Cummins praised his longtime teammate, saying, “I have greatly loved playing under Finchy and have learned an enormous amount from his leadership.”
“They are significant shoes to fill, although we are extremely fortunate to have a one-day squad with a huge amount of experience.” The team’s opening batsman, Finch, resigned from ODIs last month due to a bad run of form, but he is still captain of the Twenty20 team, which will play New Zealand in Sydney on Saturday to begin its World Cup defence.
Mitchell Marsh, Steve Smith, and Alex Carey were all thought to be candidates for the position. Demands for David Warner to be considered had also been growing despite his lifetime leadership ban as a result of a ball-tampering incident in South Africa in 2018. “We are very fortunate to have a number of high-quality leaders and senior players across all formats,” said Cricket Australia’s national teams chief Ben Oliver.
“The board and selectors agree Pat is the ideal choice to lead the ODI team through the next period including the 2023 World Cup.” Tim Paine resigned from his position as Test captain last year on the eve of the Ashes match against England due to a sexting incident, and Cummins took over. He has since earned praise for his cool leadership.
