Cummins in frame for Aussie fast-bowler first

Cricket Australia (CA) insists there is no captaincy succession plan in place but Pat Cummins has nonetheless been backed to fill in if required in England next month, putting him in line to become the first fast bowler to lead the men's side in limited-overs cricket.

Cummins was appointed as the sole vice-captain under skipper Aaron Finch for Australia's T20 and ODI tour of the United Kingdom as CA reverted to a traditional leadership structure.

Alex Carey had shared vice-captaincy duties with Cummins in recent white-ball series, while Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head and Mitchell Marsh have also held the title since Justin Langer took over as coach and introduced the concept of multiple deputies.

CA's national teams chief Ben Oliver stressed on Friday that Carey remains highly thought of despite his demotion, while head selector Trevor Hohns said the move was not an indication of succession planning.

Australia have never had a specialist paceman lead them in 50- or 20-over cricket.

The only bowlers to have performed the role have been spinners Shane Warne, who filled in as ODI captain 11 times, and Ray Bright, who took the reins once in a 1986 ODI in Sharjah.

Explaining Cummins' appointment, Oliver said: "They (Cummins and Carey) are both outstanding individuals, they're both highly respected around the group for their attributes both on and off the field.

"Pat's on field performance speaks for itself, he's a really important support for Aaron in this format.

"We just felt he was that person who could play that pivotal role as a conduit between the broader group, the staff, the captain and add a positive influence onto that group at this particular time on this tour.

"He's someone with a high degree of respect and integrity, and someone we have great faith to continue to perform in the role he has.

"We also have great confidence that if he does take to the field as captain - if Aaron is unable to take the field for a game, or during a game - that Pat would do a great job in that capacity as well."

Cummins earlier this year said the debate over who will be Finch's successor in limited-overs cricket, and Tim Paine's in Tests, is a "moot point" while those two are established in their respective roles.

Paine has suggested any one of Cummins, Head, Carey, Marnus Labuschagne as well his predecessor Steve Smith (who is now eligible for a captaincy role again after his leadership ban expired earlier this year) could take over his mantle when he retires.

Australia have not had a frontline quick captain the Test side since 1956 when Ray Lindwall filled in for one game.

The physically taxing nature of fast bowling has been seen as a major obstacle for potential fast-bowler captains, with Cummins previously admitting it would be hefty workload.

"I feel like in every Test I play, I bowl my overs and I'm absolutely cooked and I go down to fine leg and try to recover," he told SEN last year. "I'm not thinking about field placements or who should be bowling or anything like that.

"I'm not sure I'd make a great captain at the moment."

Cummins also has no senior captaincy experience and does not anticipate being able to lead his state side NSW, fresh off a Sheffield Shield title under the leadership of Peter Nevill, in the immediate future.

"In the perfect world, your first experience of being captain - say Australian captain, you've (already) had quite a bit of experience leading and you know exactly what it entails," Cummins said in April.

"You don't want to tread on anyone's toes. Especially someone like Nevvy (Nevill), who has just won a Sheffield Shield for NSW."

While CA do not intend to continue rotating the vice-captaincy according to Oliver, he conceded "the shape of the squad can change from tour to tour.

"With the (Australian summer) schedule still being worked through … we made the decision (to appoint Cummins) for this tour.

"The intention would be to continue to build stability in our leadership group as we have done in the last couple of years.

"Aaron and Tim are really well established captains leading both formats incredibly well. We've got a really core group of strong leaders across all formats."

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