Pat Cummins has been asked to ‘confess’ before being named Australia captain

Pat Cummins, Australia’s newly-appointed Test captain, has stated that the selection panel urged him to discuss any secrets he may have had before he was given the leadership job.

After Tim Paine stepped down last week and took an indefinite vacation from cricket following the’sexting incident,’ Cummins was named Australia’s 47th Test captain ahead of the Ashes series.

While Cummins was named captain, former captain Steve Smith was named vice-captain, three years after he was suspended for his role in the ball-tampering incident that rocked Australian cricket in 2018.

Cummins said yes when asked if he was asked “something like a confession” before being named captain by the Cricket Australia panel.

“Yeah, there were a few inquiries.” “I won’t go into depth,” Cummins said in an interview with ABC Sports, but he didn’t further.

“It was an excellent open discussion.” We discussed a wide range of topics. So we both left it feeling extremely good,” said Cummins, who is 28 years old.

Selectors George Bailey and Tony Dodemaide, former Australia batter and current CA board member Mel Jones, CEO Nick Hockley, and chair Richard Freudenstein made up the five-person panel.

Australia had limited time to prepare for the Ashes, with the pace trio of Cummins, Josh Hazlewood, and Mitchell Starc unable to play red-ball cricket due to their involvement in the ICC T20 World Cup.

However, as the first Test begins on December 8, Australian bowling coach Andrew McDonald has stated that he will not take any excuses from his pace bowling squad.

McDonald said during Australia’s first practise session on Sunday, “…it was always going to be a shortened prep, and less than ideal moving formats and quarantine and all that stuff.”

“However, I believe that the modern-day cricketer’s art is to be able to adapt to that.” There will be no excuses from our end, and I’m sure there won’t be any from England’s.” Members of Australia’s Ashes squad are presently training at their quarantine centre in Gold Coast after competing in the T20 World Cup in the UAE.

“Up here, we’ve had wonderful amenities. Even though the weather has been difficult at times, we’ve been able to get out into the centre. Furthermore, these individuals have a lot of Test experience,” McDonald told news.com.au.

“As a result, they’ve been able to deal with changing formats throughout their careers.” “I believe we will be really well-prepared.”