Steve Smith has reportedly won the race to be Australian Test captain during the tour of Sri Lanka later this month, with Pat Cummins set to remain at home to be with his family for the birth of his second child. Cummins has flagged his intention to remain in Australia while the Test team heads to Sri Lanka, and looks likely to miss both games on January 29 and February 6.
There had been a push for Travis Head to be elevated to the captaincy in Cummins’ absence, as he and Smith are both vice-captains. But according to News Corp the role will go back to Smith, who has captained his country on numerous occasions.
Smith was infamously stripped of the captaincy over the ball-tampering scandal in South Africa in 2018, and banned from holding a leadership position for two years. That ban has well-and-truly expired, and Smith has captained the Test team anytime Cummins has missed a match since then.
Speaking on Thursday ahead of the fifth Test against India at the SCG, Cummins paid tribute to Smith’s work ethic and desire to keep improving. “I think it’s just that incredible drive to keep finding that one per cent improvement,” Cummins said.
“Whether he’s coming off a duck or a hundred he’s still in the nets the next day tinkering, kind of dissecting his innings – where he could have got better. Even if it’s really good bowling, he has such high standards he thinks he should be able to solve every problem that’s thrown at him.”
Why Pat Cummins will skip Test tour of Sri Lanka
Cummins previously revealed he regrets how much of son Albie’s first few weeks of life he missed because he was away at a World Cup. And the death of mother Maria in 2023 has changed his outlook on life and priorities.
“In some ways it really makes you focus in on what I think is important,” he told the Daily Telegraph at the launch of the Pink Test. “It’s family, it’s enjoyment, it’s trying to find joy in life and I think that’s been a slight shift in the way I’ve approached playing and touring and it’s just given me that real decluttering mindset.
“When you go out you just want to play well and of course there’s going to be pressure, but you don’t want to forget that what mum and dad used to say to us every time we went and played as kids, was to go and enjoy it. Try your best, but make sure you enjoy it. I try and remind myself of that every time I go on a tour or play.
“Whatever you choose to do there’s always an opportunity cost. And I think in the last few years that’s probably rung true. That is when you go away on a tour you are missing out on maybe family time or moments. That’s a deliberate choice so make sure you are making the most of that tour or that game if that makes sense.”
He stated previously: “I missed a big chunk [of son Albie’s early days] last time and I want to work out how we can spend a bit more time at home for that initial period this time. It’s pretty hard to plan exactly the day, but definitely (I might miss the Sri Lanka tour).”
A poll of over 26,000 Yahoo Sport Australia readers has Head as the most popular choice to take over the captaincy rather than Smith. Head had 45 per cent of the vote at time of publishing compared to 43 per cent for Smith, while seven per cent want Alex Carey and five per cent voted for ‘someone else’.
