Cummins strikes me as being one of the most well rounded deep thinkers Australia has had as a captain. He can manage people better than most, and in this regard reminds me of Mike Brearley, although the former England captain could never lead through personal ability and performance like Cummins. Richie Benaud and maybe Steve Waugh also come to mind as independent thinkers beyond cricket.
I too recall the ridiculous comments in the Oz whenever Cummins name was mentioned. A more ignorant lot you couldn’t find anywhere.
Thanks for reading it. You've convinced me. I'll have to get it now.
Just by the by, how many poor bowler-captains have there been? There have been several absolute crackers, especially if you include bowling all-rounders. According to legend one of the first, George Giffen, never took himself off, so perhaps that's a problem, but he was a long time ago. Maybe the prejudice in favour of upper-order batsmen is an unconscious inheritance from the dark days of English amateurism, and the time is ripe for more of the blokes who know how to get batsmen out?
As an outsider, I do wonder if some people's reflexive dislike of Cummins is that cricket is one of those sports that informally teaches boys how to be "men" (you see this with different sports in other countries), and Cummins is the type of person that isn't what certain people see as a "proper man"? It was different when he was just a wicket taking bowler, but as the captain and public figurehead of Australian cricket, he's exactly the wrong sort of man in a sport that some Australians see as being part of the nation's identity?
A character for the times. Interesting tidbit about Rob Sitch’s connection!? Fascinating. One wonders what Warwick Todd would make of the contemporary scene.
Beaut piece, Pete ... your description of the Y and Yang of Cummins and Maxwell reminds me of another pairing in the cricket writing and podcasting world!
This piece alone is worth the price of subscription. Coupled with you breaking the news around Konstas' emergence as a potential opener for the Aussie squad, and yesterdays piece on Glen Maxwell, I have a new glow in my heart for our great game. Thankyou gentlemen, here's to quality journalism.
Cummins & Maxwell. The tortoise & the hare. Albo & Dutton. For every complex problem there is a solution that is simple, obvious & wrong. If the captaincy of the Australian cricket team is really the most important leadership job in the country, then we are lucky to have a leader who measures twice and cuts once. Bravo to reviewer & reviewed.
“… a departure from the traditional … as the appointment of the bespectacled and university educated fast bowler was a departure from the traditional type of Australian cricket captain”. There do seem more than a couple of parallels with Geoff Lawson captaining NSW, but I’m too far removed from the early 90s to really know for sure. Certainly Henry seemed to arouse suspicion amongst many more conservative-minded folk, though more to do with declaring at 0/0 than expressing a willingness to listen to science…
Cummins strikes me as being one of the most well rounded deep thinkers Australia has had as a captain. He can manage people better than most, and in this regard reminds me of Mike Brearley, although the former England captain could never lead through personal ability and performance like Cummins. Richie Benaud and maybe Steve Waugh also come to mind as independent thinkers beyond cricket.
I too recall the ridiculous comments in the Oz whenever Cummins name was mentioned. A more ignorant lot you couldn’t find anywhere.
Thanks for reading it. You've convinced me. I'll have to get it now.
Just by the by, how many poor bowler-captains have there been? There have been several absolute crackers, especially if you include bowling all-rounders. According to legend one of the first, George Giffen, never took himself off, so perhaps that's a problem, but he was a long time ago. Maybe the prejudice in favour of upper-order batsmen is an unconscious inheritance from the dark days of English amateurism, and the time is ripe for more of the blokes who know how to get batsmen out?
As an outsider, I do wonder if some people's reflexive dislike of Cummins is that cricket is one of those sports that informally teaches boys how to be "men" (you see this with different sports in other countries), and Cummins is the type of person that isn't what certain people see as a "proper man"? It was different when he was just a wicket taking bowler, but as the captain and public figurehead of Australian cricket, he's exactly the wrong sort of man in a sport that some Australians see as being part of the nation's identity?
A character for the times. Interesting tidbit about Rob Sitch’s connection!? Fascinating. One wonders what Warwick Todd would make of the contemporary scene.
Beaut piece, Pete ... your description of the Y and Yang of Cummins and Maxwell reminds me of another pairing in the cricket writing and podcasting world!
Collins and Lemon? 😂
👍
This piece alone is worth the price of subscription. Coupled with you breaking the news around Konstas' emergence as a potential opener for the Aussie squad, and yesterdays piece on Glen Maxwell, I have a new glow in my heart for our great game. Thankyou gentlemen, here's to quality journalism.
Cummins & Maxwell. The tortoise & the hare. Albo & Dutton. For every complex problem there is a solution that is simple, obvious & wrong. If the captaincy of the Australian cricket team is really the most important leadership job in the country, then we are lucky to have a leader who measures twice and cuts once. Bravo to reviewer & reviewed.
“… a departure from the traditional … as the appointment of the bespectacled and university educated fast bowler was a departure from the traditional type of Australian cricket captain”. There do seem more than a couple of parallels with Geoff Lawson captaining NSW, but I’m too far removed from the early 90s to really know for sure. Certainly Henry seemed to arouse suspicion amongst many more conservative-minded folk, though more to do with declaring at 0/0 than expressing a willingness to listen to science…
Beautifully done, Pete!