Cummins poised to captain Australia amidst off-field controversies for CA and ECB

Pat Cummins is poised to become Australia's 47th Test captain amidst scandals that have rocked both the Australian and English camps.

Just a month ago, the old rivals were bickering over how the Ashes would even proceed, but that has become ancient history. Since then, a lot has happened.

Joe Root has committed the English squad to the tour, Australia's international borders have partially re-opened, Ben Stokes spectacularly made himself available, and Australia have won the T20 World Cup. Astoundingly, Cummins is now staking his claim to captain Australia.

But more importantly, the English Cricket Board (ECB) and Cricket Australia (CA) are also racing to address off-field controversies.

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English cricket has been thrown into turmoil after former Yorkshire off-spinner Azeem Rafiq exposed racism at the club. He is determined to be a talisman in ending continual bouts of discrimination in English cricket.

He detailed his harrowing ordeals at the Yorkshire Cricket Club in a testimony before the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) select committee in the British Parliament.

By extension, the ECB is now battling a normalized culture of discrimination in the sport - to which their response was initially mixed. Reports suggest they banned England players from speaking to the media about the racism row.

The ECB released a statement on Friday outlining intentions of "stamping out discrimination, making cricket more open and inclusive and ensuring effective governance and leadership."

But the statement fell short of outlining what those tangible commitments would be, going on to state a need to "consult stakeholders before finalizing the details."

However, initial proceedings in tackling the issue are moving in the right direction. The Independent Commission for Equity in Cricket in England has already received more than 1000 submissions in the last week.

In Australia, Tim Paine resigned as captain on Friday for sending explicit messages to a then colleague at Cricket Tasmania in 2017. The incident caught the public by surprise, but disturbingly, it didn't catch CA by surprise.

Paine was initially cleared of any wrongdoing in relation to the Cricket Australia Code of Conduct in 2018. But CA has recently admitted that it mishandled its investigation over the sexting scandal - by keeping it private and allowing Paine to continue captaining the team.

Tim Paine was thrust into the Test captaincy in the wake of Australia's sandpaper saga at Cape Town in a bid to improve the image of the side. CA elected not to make the investigation public, with the side's culture at an all-time low.

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It only became public this week after the matter was leaked to the Melbourne newspaper Herald Sun, which incited Paine to resign as captain on his own accord. Paine and CA had this issue hanging over their heads for a number of years.

In a statement, current CA chair Richard Frudenstein said that Paine would not have continued as captain had the current CA board been in place in 2018. He acknowledged that the "decision clearly sent the wrong message to the sport, to the community and to Tim - that this kind of behavior is acceptable and without serious consequences."

Many claim that CA has adopted a culture of systemic perceived invincibility in the wake of Australia's recent domination of the sport. Resorting to Steve Smith as the captain would go against the grain in CA's perpetual effort to cleanse their image. That has paved the way for Pat Cummins.

Pat Cummins first in line to become Australian captain

Pat Cummins has long been touted as a potential leader for Australia, having been awarded the vice-captaincy of the Test side, as well as being captain of New South Wales in the past.

At 28 years old, Cummins positions himself at the ideal equilibrium between youth, longevity, experience and know-how. Back in 2011, he was the second-youngest player to debut for Australia at 18 years and 193 days old.

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He's strongly backed by the majority of the cricketing fraternity both in Australia and around the world as the right man for the vacant post. Viewed as someone who borders on flawlessness, it is hoped Cummins can steer Australian cricket away from a tarnished image.

Former Australian fast bowler Dennis Lillee echoed that sentiment and endorsed Cummins as the next captain.

"He's an intelligent guy, but more than that, he's got real cricket smarts. He's a born leader. He's 110 per cent all the time, whether the wicket is flat or not, and I admire that in a fast bowler. He's a leader of men and they look up to him," he said.

The only suggested pitfall is Cummins' role as a fast bowler, meaning his impact as captain may be hindered both physically and tactically. However, Cummins has proven his sound management of both injuries and workload, especially as a player who plays all three formats of the game.

After a rocky start to his career by way of injury and extended pauses from international cricket, Cummins has played every Test for Australia since mid-2017. That includes two Ashes series where he played in all five Tests - in 2017/18 and 2019. Unsurprisingly, he's keen to keep playing every game.

As one of the best fast bowlers in the world, Cummins has taken 164 Test wickets in 34 matches at an average of 21.59.

No fast bowler has captained Australia in any format since 1965 - when Ray Lindwall led the side for a solitary Test. Pat Cummins is seemingly the right man for the job to finally buck that trend for Australia.

Wasim Akram, Shaun Pollock, Andrew Flintoff and Jason Holder are all examples of fast bowling captains from around the world in the modern era.