Public Not Yet Ready To See Steve Smith Resuming His Duty As A Leader, Says Brad Hogg

May 19, 2021 at 1:36 PM

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Public Not Yet Ready To See Steve Smith Resuming His Duty As A Leader, Says Brad Hogg

Brad Hogg, former Australian cricketer speaking to timesnownews.com opined that Pat Cummins should be Australia’s next captain as the public might not be ready to see Steve Smith resume the captaincy.

In one of the biggest controversial events to have rocked the cricket world, Australian premier batsmen Steve Smith and David Warner, the then captain, and vice-captains of the Australian cricket team, were found guilty in a ball-tampering scandal in 2018 as a result of which the duo was handed a 12-month ban from international cricket.

Brad Hogg (PTI Photo)
Brad Hogg (PTI Photo)

Brad Hogg: Australia’s Most Deserving Captaincy Candidate Is Pat Cummins Who Is A Fantastic Role Model

Steve Smith was also handed an additional 12-month captaincy ban while David Warner was handed a lifetime captaincy ban. However, 3 years have passed since the incident took place and the two cricketers once again emerged as two run-machines for Australian cricket after completing their bans.

But with Steve Smith’s captaincy ban ending more than 12 months ago, the selectors haven’t handed him the captaincy duties again. There have been discussions of late in the Australian cricket fraternity of late whether Steve Smith should once again be handed over the captaincy.

While Tim Paine has been leading the Aussies in whites, Aaron Finch hasn’t done a bad job either leading the side in limited-overs cricket. However, Tim Paine’s captaincy came under the scanner after an injury-marred Indian team, without their regular skipper in Virat Kohli, bounced back from humiliation in the first Test to clinch the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2-1.

Steve Smith, Tim Paine
Steve Smith, Tim Paine. Image-Twitter

Speaking to timesnownews.com, Brad Hogg lauded vice-captain Pat Cummins as a fantastic role model both on and off the field and backed the pacer to take up the captaincy from Tim Paine going forward.

 “I think Australia’s most deserving candidate for captaincy in both off and on the field is Pat Cummins. I think he (Cummins) is a fantastic role model and a brilliant cricketer. I think he is just perfect for the role like he does for the New South Wales. The only issue I have is that the fast bowlers do have a lot more work compared to others.”

“Pat may have to sacrifice to play other domestic leagues such as IPL to make sure that he is going to play the majority of the games in National colours. Smith might have a fantastic cricket brain but I don’t think the Australian public are still ready to see him as a leader,” Brad Hogg said.

Several names have been doing the rounds for Tim Paine’s successor. While Steve Smith is definitely in contention to take up the job once again, according to former Australian cricketer Brad Hogg, premier pacer Pat Cummins should be Australia’s next captain.

Brad Hogg Would Prefer Two Different Skippers In Limited Overs And Tests

When asked whether he would want to see Pat Cummins lead Australia across formats, the former Chinaman spinner opined that he would prefer split captaincy for the Australian team.

“We’re still in the protocols of COVID-19 pandemic wherever we go to play so I would prefer two different skippers in limited-overs and Test cricket. I think Australia have enough squad depth to make two sides. I love to see Aaron Finch as a white-ball captain although he is under pressure with his batting form.”

“He should definitely remain captain till T20 World Cup later this year. After that, Alex Carey might take the role as many see him as a promising leader,” Brad Hogg, who represented Australia in 123 ODIs, 15 T20Is and 7 Tests, added.

File image of Pat Cummins | Andrew Boyers/Reuters
File image of Pat Cummins | Andrew Boyers/Reuters

Tim Paine has led Australia’s Test side with distinction, but with the wicketkeeper-batsman will be turning 37 by the time he captains in the Ashes series against England at the end of 2021, as a clear succession plan would be required.

Pat Cummins has represented Australia in 34 Tests so far, picking up 164 wickets at an impressive average of 21.60. Tim Paine has led Australia in 23 Tests and Australia won 11, lost 8 while 4 Tests were drawn. In ODIs, Aaron Finch has led Australia to 23 wins in 41 matches and 22 wins in 43 T20Is.

Under Steve Smith, Australia won 25 out of 51 ODIs and 4 out of 8 T20Is. A total of eleven players have captained Australia in T20Is, of which Aaron Finch is the most successful captain, with 22 wins.

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