Australian skipper Pat Cummins is not convinced about Steve Smith taking the role of test opener as a replacement of David Warner. Cummins shared that he is happy the way Steve Smith is performing at No.4 in test cricket. Who should replace Warner at the top of the Test order has been a topic of much discussion in Australian cricket.
Following Australia’s eight-wicket victory in the third and final Test of the home series against Pakistan at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG), the left-handed batter announced his retirement from the format with a final score of 57.
On Monday, January 8, Australia’s selectors will probably get together to choose the team for the opening Test match with the West Indies. Matt Renshaw, Marcus Harris, and Cameron Bancroft are a few contenders for the role of Warner. All-rounder Cameron Green has received support from a few former Australian cricket players for the difficult position.
I am pretty happy with Steve Smith’s output at No. 4- Pat Cummins
Following Warner’s retirement from Test cricket, Steve Smith has offered to bat as an opener himself. He expressed his desire to move up to the batting order, calling he was “pretty keen,” to ABC Grandstand. However, Skipper Cummins is not very fond of the proposal. He was cited by Cricbuzz as stating:
“I’m pretty happy with [Smith’s] output at No. 4. Obviously Marnus [Labuschagne], Smudge [Smith], Trav [Head] and [Mitchell] Marsh have been pretty impressive at Nos. 3, 4, 5 and 6. So first instinct isn’t probably to disrupt that,”
After the 3-0 demolition of Pakistan, Cummins was named as the Player of the Series. With 19 wickets at an average of 12, he was the top wicket-taker.
It’s obviously going to be really hard to replicate Davey (David Warner) – Pat Cummins on the replacement of Warner
While acknowledging that it will be difficult to replace Warner, Pat Cummins added that you’ve got to be putting pressure on the opposition by ticking over the scoreboard. Cummins stated that batters who excel at the position in Shield cricket have the ability to move up to the highest level.
“It’s obviously going to be really hard to replicate Davey and what he’s brought to it. I think you look for who is best placed to score runs, really. But I think, in Test cricket, there are some things that remain true – and that is you’ve got to be putting the pressure on the opposition. You’ve got to be ticking over the scoreboard. Not always – but most of the time – you’ve got to keep the scoreboard moving along,” he explained.
“There are considerations, but realistically, if anyone is scoring runs in Shield cricket, it’s probably a good sign they can do it at the next level,” he concluded.
Now it will be a sweet headache for the Pat Cummins and Australian selectors to choose an ideal replacement for David Warner.
David Warner performance in his farewell Test series
Warner concluded his career in Test cricket with a flourish. After scoring 299 runs at an average of 49.83 in six innings against Pakistan, he was the second-highest run scorer in the series. David Warner showed a lot of character in the farewell Test series where he was quite eager to keep the scoreboard ticking.
In Perth, the left-hander smashed 164 off 211 balls in the opening Test innings. In his final Test match at the SCG, he contributed 34 and 57 in addition to scoring 38 in the first innings in Melbourne.