Former Australia Test skipper Tim Paine has backed Pat Cummins to help the visitors bounce back in the fourth Ashes Test at Old Trafford, saying his brief captaincy career has shown that he can get things right as he cannot get things wrong often.
On Day Two, Cummins had a disastrous day as he was dismissed on the first ball of the day with the bat off a loose shot against James Anderson. He then bowled four no-balls and messed up two catching opportunities, while his tactics and field placements were uninspiring as Zak Crawley smashed a magnificent 189 as England reached 384/4, leading by 67 runs.
“I will say before we get into it, it is so much easier to captain a side sitting on your lounge or sitting in a commentary box when you’re absolutely under no pressure. When the ball is flying around like Zak Crawley and the Poms had it flying around last night, it can go pear-shaped and I think Pat would admit he didn’t get everything right yesterday, but he’s not going to,” said Paine on SEN Radio.
It was a day on which Australia couldn’t stem the flow of runs, and pressure increased on Cummins with his bowlers being taken to the cleaners by England’s batters. Adding to Australia’s woes was having no specialist spinner in the playing XI, thus exposing their over-dependability on Nathan Lyon, who’s out of the series due to a calf injury.
“He’s never going to. No captain is ever going to. All you can hope is he comes back tomorrow (on Friday) and they’ve had a good think about how they’re going to slow the run rate down and build a bit of pressure and try and get some wickets that way.”
“It certainly wasn’t his best day as captain. It wasn’t his best day with the ball and it wasn’t his best day with the field. Pat Cummins’ career would suggest he’ll get it right tomorrow because he doesn’t get it wrong often,” concluded Paine.
Australia will now be praying for rain as days four and five are predicted to be majorly rainy in Manchester. The visitors only need a draw to retain the ongoing Ashes.
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