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Cummins named Australia's ODI captain

Fast bowler to lead Australia's one-day international side in addition to Test captaincy job following Aaron Finch's retirement from the 50-over format

Pat Cummins is Australia's new men's one-day international captain.

The 29-year-old will add the ODI portfolio to the Test job he took over last year as Cricket Australia today confirmed he would lead the side to next year's 50-over World Cup in India.

Aaron Finch remains Australia's skipper for the ongoing T20 World Cup, but retired from the longer white-ball format last month to throw the role open.

David Warner was not able to be considered given his lifetime leadership ban remains in place while CA's Board considers a change to its code of conduct, with Cummins winning out over other candidates like Steve Smith, Alex Carey, Glenn Maxwell and Mitch Marsh.

Australia's 27th men's ODI captain, Cummins will become the first fast bowler to lead a men's team in white-ball cricket, while he is the first bowler since the late Shane Warne filled in for 11 ODIs in the late nineties.

No vice-captain has been named but Cummins said on Sunday if he were to be appointed that he would expect to lean significantly on others to lead for certain series.

"You’d probably need to look at it a little bit differently to perhaps in the past with so much cricket going on, if I was offered it," Cummins said before today's appointment was announced.

"Just playing every single game isn't realistic. We've got a handful of guys that play all three formats.

"In a year like this, T20 becomes the focus leading to a World Cup. Next year might be different with the one-day World Cup.

"But with 15 Test matches in the next six months, I don't think you can expect the captain to play every game just because he is the captain."


Pat Cummins' ODI career record

Matches: 73 | Wickets: 119 | 5WI: 1 | Ave: 28.04 | Econ: 5.21 | BB: 5-70


Cummins has impressed with his calm leadership of the Test side since taking over from Tim Paine on the eve of the Ashes last year and, in March, led the team to their first Test series win in Asia in a decade with a griding 1-0 win in Pakistan.

“Pat has done an excellent job since taking on the captaincy of the Test side and we look forward to him leading the one-day team to the 2023 World Cup in India," said selection chief George Bailey.

The right-armer has become one of cricket's great ironmen after a rotten run with injuries in his teens and early-twenties.

But administrators will need to pay careful attention to his workload over the coming years as he enters his thirties.

From the Vault: Cummins makes instant ODI impact

He remains one of the Indian Premier League's hottest commodities and will now be expected to play a greater role in the one-day side in the lead-in to next year's World Cup.

It comes with some question marks lingering over the future of the format which bubbled over when Ben Stokes, hero of the last 50-over World Cup in 2019, announced his retirement from the format.

Australia's next ODIs are against England next month, a three match Dettol ODI Series between the T20 World Cup and the home Test summer.

Men's Dettol ODI Series v England

Thursday Nov 17: Adelaide Oval, 1:50pm

Saturday Nov 19: SCG, 2:20pm

Tuesday Nov 22: MCG, 2:20pm

Buy #AUSvENG ODI tickets here