Former national captain Ian Chappell has brought Australia’s decision-making process into question after the hosts failed to clinch victory in the fourth Ashes Test.
Some greats of the game, including Mark Taylor, Mark Waugh and David Lloyd, have argued that Pat Cummins took too long to declare on the fourth day of the Sydney fixture, after England survived 102 overs to force a draw.
But instead of becoming another critic of Cummins’ declaration call, which was made after a lead of 387 was compiled, Chappell has questioned if the captain is listening to too many opinions.
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“My query would be more along the lines of, ‘Who’s making the decision?’,” Chappell said on Wide World of Sports’ Outside The Rope.
“Is it a combined thing? Captaincy can be a tough job and I think you’ve got to decide, ‘This is how long I want to give the bowlers to take the 10 wickets’. I would listen to some senior players, but blokes who are off the field – I’m not sure why I’m listening to them because they’re not out there. It’s your vice-captain, your senior players who are out there. They’re fighting, they know what it’s like.”
Taylor said on Outside The Rope that he thought Cummins had a “terrific” fifth day as captain, pointing to his measured use of tweaker Nathan Lyon and willingness to use part-time leg-spinners Steve Smith and Marnus Labuschagne.
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The former national captain also argued the SCG wicket was “not the pitch it used to be”, saying “it’s not a raging turner” and “balls aren’t going up and down like they used to towards the end of a game”.
The draw in the fourth Test followed India’s colossal effort to salvage a stalemate on the fifth day at the SCG the year prior, when Ajinkya Rahane’s men survived 131 overs against a Tim Paine-led Australia.
Chappell is a fervid advocate of Cummins as captain.
“Anyone who is not inspired by Pat Cummins is a fool, because he’s easily the most inspiring player in that Australian side,” Chappell said.
“People who were querying his credentials as a captain don’t know anything about the game.
“Take (former Pakistan captain) Imran Khan’s comment. He said, ‘If you’re going to be a good cricket captain you’ve got to understand bowling’. Well, who’s going to understand bowling better than Pat Cummins? He is a bloody bowler. I think he’s done a terrific job in that regard.
“He’s got all the credentials to be a captain. It’ll get tougher for him, it’s not all going to go along like this, but he’ll be a good captain.”
Australia will aim to round out a 4-0 series victory in Hobart, matching the result of the 2017-18 Ashes on home soil.
The final match, to be played at Bellerive Oval from tomorrow, will see Hobart host its first-ever Ashes Test.
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