Cummins turns OoO off but bestie Marsh to remain in charge

No office politics to speak of here. Australian cricket's ultimate job-share arrangement – the men's ODI captaincy – will be put to the test when colleagues-turned-besties Mitch Marsh and Pat Cummins sync their calendars for an important industry conference (read: a three-match series against South Africa).  

His out-of-office turned off, Cummins has joined the 50-over squad he nominally leads after landing in Durban less than 72 hours before his team's first match of their South African tour. But exactly what role the 33-year-old plays in the white-ball games leading into next month's Test series opener, back on the country's east coast on October 9, remains somewhat unclear.

It looks certain he will not play the first ODI. As pace partners Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood steamed in to bowl on a Kingsmead centre wicket on a muggy Tuesday morning, Cummins instead had a lengthy F2F download with coach Andrew McDonald in the middle of the oval.

These are not quite RDOs for Cummins – he could well be back for ODIs at the Wanderers (on Sunday) or in Potchefstroom (Wednesday week) – but he looked set to exercise his right to disconnect for the customary pre-series press conference and photo opportunity.

Marsh, the full-time T20I captain who has skippered 13 of Australia's 31 ODIs since the 2023 World Cup to Cummins' two, was expected to fulfil those duties instead on Wednesday and pose with the trophy alongside his Proteas counterpart Temba Bavuma.  

According to Starc, Cummins may keep delegating to Marsh, who led Australia to a 3-0 sweep of Zimbabwe last week, even if he ends his almost two-year ODI absence over the coming days.

"They've spent a lot of time with one another over 10-plus years," Starc told cricket.com.au of the Cummins-Marsh ODI leadership situation.

"That's probably dripped into the captaincy discussion as well, where they're two very close mates who think similarly about the game (as) quite relaxed characters.

"Every time (Marsh) has had to take on the captaincy role in white-ball cricket, he's been up to task – he's got great respect from the group, and a guy you want to play for and play with.

"So if Pat decides not to captain in the games he plays here – I'm not sure, that's for those two to work out. They're both different in some of the ways they approach the captaincy, but ultimately they're very similar in their calmness and what they're looking to achieve."

McDonald and selection boss George Bailey, who has joined the white-ball group in Durban, have emphasised Cummins, the World Cup final mastermind in Ahmedabad three years ago, remains their first choice to lead Australia's title defence in southern Africa next year.

"It's a nice little duo," McDonald told cricket.com.au. "It's working well for us, and they're not territorial around it.

"I'd like to say that's a strength. Some people would say that that can create some instabilities. There's no doubt it could create some instabilities if it didn't function at the level that we're able to with the handover from captain to captain internally.

"So we're proud of that being the case for this group. The ability to, if someone steps out, you then get into a supporting role, and the other person leads, then when you come back, that person then supports you."

It has been a somewhat analogous story for the Test side which has seen Steve Smith take the reins when Cummins has missed. "When he has, I think he's been straight on the money," Starc said of the Test vice-captain whose ODI retirement means he will not arrive in the Rainbow Nation until next week's red-ball tour match in Potchefstroom.

"(Smith) probably said it himself the other day – he's captained differently from the first stint he had as a full-time captain … it's quite a no-nonsense transition."

In the ODI space, Marsh had his work cut out for him in Harare where the absence of Australia's only seam-bowling allrounder in Cameron Green forced him to make up overs from spinners Matthew Renshaw, Cooper Connolly, Travis Head and Ollie Peake.

Should Green, who is managing a sore shoulder, return for these ODIs his bowling role may remain limited. He batted for the best part of an hour in the nets on Tuesday, seemingly pain-free, but only had a light bowl at the end of the session.

The Proteas are missing a handful of first-choice pace bowlers but are a perennially strong white-ball outfit. They will provide a sterner test than Zimbabwe for an ODI bowling group that has not fully settled on how it will replace the overs of recently retired allrounders Glenn Maxwell and Marcus Stoinis.

"Obviously we're missing Greeny  … those overs are pretty crucial," Hazlewood told cricket.com.au last week. "He can bowl six, seven, even up to 10 (overs), and chip in with part timers for the (balance of the fifth bowler's overs)."

Hazlewood was speaking after the second ODI when Billy Stanlake's side strain meant Marsh was down to only three frontline bowlers. "Any time guys like that get a bowl when they're probably not going to in planning ... it's a good opportunity," he said. "There's no practice as good as in the game."

Qantas tour of South Africa 2026

All matches to be broadcast exclusively in Australia on Kayo and Fox Cricket

First ODI: September 24, Kingsmead Stadium, Durban, 6pm AEST (10am local)

Second ODI: September 27, Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg, 6pm AEST (10am local)

Third ODI: September 30, JB Marks Oval, Potchefstroom, 9:30pm AEST (D/N, 1:30pm local)

South Africa ODI squad: Temba Bavuma (c), Corbin Bosch, Matthew Breetzke, Gerald Coetzee, Quinton de Kock, Tony de Zorzi, Bjorn Fortuin, Duan Jansen, Marco Jansen, Keshav Maharaj, Kwena Maphaka, Aiden Markram, David Miller, Nqobani Mokoena, Ryan Rickelton, Tristan Stubbs

Australia ODI squad: Pat Cummins (c), Mitchell Marsh, Xavier Bartlett, Alex Carey, Cooper Connolly, Joel Davies, Jack Edwards, Nathan Ellis, Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Oliver Peake, Matthew Renshaw, Mitchell Starc, Adam Zampa