Cummins facing first true test of his leadership as Aussies ponder line-up changes for second Test

Pat Cummins assumed the Test captaincy in the most extraordinary of circumstances less than 15 months ago and it’s been smooth sailing pretty much ever since then. 

He now faces the first truly tough test of his leadership as Australia try to climb their “Everest” of a Test series win in India after stumbling and tumbling backwards from base camp. 

As expected, the skipper did not divulge his second Test line-up at his pre-match media conference in Delhi on Thursday. When the stakes are this high, information will only be proffered when it has to be.

Cummins made a habit of stating his final XI 24 hours before a Test in his first year in the job but there’s a lot more pressure when you’re 1-0 down in a series on foreign turf taking on a world-class opponent as opposed to an Adelaide Oval walk in the park against the West Indies. 

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His first assignment as captain was an Ashes cakewalk with the worst English side in many a decade providing no resistance. 

Pat Cummins of Australia chases a ball to the boundary. (Photo by Robert Cianflone/Getty Images)

Cummins’ first tours were by no means easy – the 1-0 triumph sealed in the last session of the third game in Pakistan and split two-match series in Sri Lanka – but the past summer at home was Test cricket in name but not much of an examination of the Australian side with the Windies and South Africans fielding mediocre line-ups. 

He fronted a large contingent of travelling and local reporters on Thursday and indicated that Mitchell Starc and Cameron Green were close to comebacks from their finger injuries but would not reveal whether they would play or not.

Cummins said bringing in an extra frontline spinner alongside Nathan Lyon and Todd Murphy was an option – late tour inclusion Matt Kuhnemann appears to be the frontrunner in that scenario. 

Green can bring balance the side as the all-rounder who could share the new ball with Cummins, allowing them the possibility of bypassing Starc for a third tweaker.

“I think having a right-hander helps and him providing a fifth bowling option also helps. He’s a big player, it certainly helps the team function well from batting and bowling,” Cummins said.

“But you’ve got to be able to perform as well. He’s still coming back from that injury and he’s only had a couple of sessions where he’s catching with a hard ball so we’ll see. 

“He had a really good session (on Wednesday), but will see how he pulls up.”

And it’s not as if the batting unit is brimming with confidence after tallying just 177 and 91 in Nagpur and only vice-captain Steve Smith and Marnus Labuschagne showing any assuredness at the crease as India’s spinners continually beat the bat. 

Cummins casually dropped the news that Travis Head had been punted at the coin toss last week and was not about to say whether he’d be getting a recall or whether David Warner was locked in to retain his opener’s spot because that was up to the selectors. 

“The batters have been fantastic. I think the planning has been really good. Now it’s about going out there and doing it and, at times, that might be having to be brave enough to take a calculated risk where the risk might be a bit higher than what you get in Australia,” Cummins said before adding that he had confidence in Warner – who made 1 and 10 in Nagpur.

“I’m sure Davey will be there. You saw this year at the Boxing Day Test when he puts pressure back on the opposition he’s pretty hard to bowl to. He has been batting really well here, even in the lead up I thought he was fantastic.

“I know there’s a lot of talk about spin bowling through the middle but with that new ball it’s sometimes the hardest time to bat as well.”

Cummins basically said he would have confidence in any squad member who made the final XI whether it’s Kuhnemann, Head, Green or Scott Boland, even Ashton Agar, who appears to be well out of favour after his wicketless SCG effort last month.

David Warner is bowled by Mohammed Shami. (Photo by Robert Cianflone/Getty Images)

While Australia are scrambling for the right combination, India have the luxury of Shreyas Iyer being available again.

The classy middle-order batter, who has hit a century and averaged 56.72 in his first seven Tests, is likely to replace T20 specialist Suryakumar Yadav at No.5 in the order after he made just eight in his debut at Nagpur.

Cummins is also having to put up with sniping from the outer such as Damien Martyn tweeting #justinlanger soon after the first Test loss last Saturday night in support of his former teammate who was ousted as coach last year. 

He later deleted the tweet and put up another saying “Working on my next hashtag in case your [sic] wondering” with three laughing emojis. 

Martyn must have conveniently forgotten that Langer oversaw two series losses at home to India, including the 2-1 defeat in 2020-21 when the tourists overcame the absence of Virat Kohli and a bunch of injured top-liners to upset Australia in the decider at their previous fortress of the Gabba. 

Cummins was unusually erratic in his opening spell in the first Test – leading to Matthew Hayden claiming he was “bowling a buffet” – so perhaps the pressure of being captain, the team’s batting collapse and the unique chaos of touring India is having an effect on the 29-year-old. 

When issues like Langer’s exit have flared up during his captaincy, Cummins has been on the front foot and shown he was the right choice to succeed Paine despite Australia’s historical reluctance to have a fast bowler as the skipper. 

Expectations are low for the visitors to be able to upset India in Delhi but at times like these is when Australia’s great captains have made their name. 

Players shake hands after India defeated Australia in Nagpur. (Photo by Robert Cianflone/Getty Images)

Allan Border, who criticised the team on the weekend for needing to develop “a harder edge”, cashed in with Ashes success in the second half of his nine-year reign as skipper but arguably his greatest achievements while captain were in the first few years when he was the team’s only reliable batter. 

When the chips were often down, he was the glue that held the side together and the team followed his example, starting with the 1987 World Cup final when the Aussies were given little to no chance of victory in India. 

Cummins is preaching a mantra of being brave and he will have to do so with his own actions and tactics because a repeat of Nagpur’s performance will result in another drubbing. 

From the way he was speaking on Thursday, he’s urging the team to be bold and be more aggressive against India, particularly with the bat. The old motto of if you’re going to go down, you go down swinging. 

“These conditions are tough but if that’s our best chance of taking the game on – someone taking a calculated risk, if it doesn’t come off, that’s totally fine,” he said.