David Warner has a burning desire to fill Australia’s white-ball captaincy void, backed by Test skipper Pat Cummins who believes the prospect of leading all three formats could be unrealistic for a fast bowler.
Cricket Australia chiefs are prepared to reassess the lifetime leadership ban imposed upon Warner by the board at the time for his role in the sandpaper scandal in 2018.
The 35-year-old has been backed by outgoing one-day captain Aaron Finch to fill the void in the 50-over format, while there is a desire within CA’s ranks to have one leader across both white-ball formats. Finch has retired from one-day cricket and uncertainty remains about his Twenty20 international career following the World Cup beginning in October.
Warner has made no secret of his desire to assume a leadership role again and would be open to meeting with CA officials about scrapping a ban that has grown tired.
“The man next to me is the key, he’s the Test captain. I’m sure he gets the first opportunity,” Warner said as he stood beside Cummins at Kayo’s summer of cricket launch at the SCG on Tuesday.
“Any opportunity you get asked to captain, it’s a privilege. For my circumstances, that’s in Cricket Australia’s hands. I can only concentrate on what I have to do and that’s using the bat and trying to score as many runs as I can.
David Warner has a desire to captain his country.Credit:Getty
“My phone’s here [if CA want to call for a talk about leadership]. What’s done is done in the past. The good thing is there is a new board that has come along. I’m always happy to sit down and have a chat, and talk about anything they need to talk about. I’m just happy, enjoying my cricket and putting my best foot forward for the team.”
Cummins looms as another option as CA prepares to anoint a new one-day captain but the man who became Australia’s Test skipper last November is adamant trying to balance a leadership role across all three formats could be too taxing.
The 29-year-old fast bowler has backed Warner’s credentials given the opener has excelled since his return to the top level.
But Cummins stresses there is no rush to make the decision given Australia’s focus rests with the chance to win a T20 World Cup on home soil, defending their title.
“If you were going to do all the formats and every game, I don’t think that’s realistic. Especially as a fast bowler, I think you do need to find windows to rest. I think you could manage that as well,” Cummins said.
“It’s not something I’ve really thought about, to be honest. We’ll wait and see. I’m really happy being a member of and captaining the Test side. I don’t think there needs to be any rush on that decision.
“It’s not our decision to make but Davey is always a fantastic leader around the team. He makes my job as a captain very easy. I don’t know the first thing about batting so having guys like Davey there to look after that is great.”
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