The World Cup-winning Australia star Travis Head will serve as vice-captain for the Test series against Pakistan in Western Australia.
Australia’s Vice-captain for Pakistan Test series
Travis Head has been appointed as Australia’s Test vice-captain ahead of the men’s international summer. Pat Cummins will lead the side for the NRMA insurance Test against Pakistan.
Australia was scheduled to play a three match test series against Pakistan on a home tour. With the first test scheduled to start on December 14, Steve Smith was the first option to take the captaincy in Cummins’ absence.
Australia will be playing against Pakistan with the squad they played in the Ashes final 2023 in August at the Oval. Australia will be served by three pace bowlers Cummins, Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood will reunite after leading Australia to claim its sixth World Cup title.
“Really excited to have Trav on board as the co-vice-captain,” Cummins said on Wednesday. “He’s been playing for a long time. He’s always been a leader in our group. So we thought it was a good time to formally recognize that.”
“Whilst nothing’s imminent, Steve’s not going to play forever. I daresay I’m not going to captain forever. So we feel like we’ve got some responsibility to future-proof the team and start trying to give opportunities to other leaders.”
“I think the personality that he brings to the team is something that we all love. And I think you see it in the way he plays his cricket. There’s a certain amount of freedom to it. He takes the game on. He enjoys it. He’s always got a smile on his face,” he added.
“It doesn’t guarantee anything,” Cummins said. “But we’re giving him a good opportunity. So when you look through the candidates for future captains, of course, he’s going to be right up there.”
“And I know in the last couple of years before I became captain, being in some of those conversations as a vice-captain really helped fast-track my readiness. So down the track, it might be Trav, it might be someone else, but we want to make sure they’re as prepared as they can be.”
“I think the personality that he brings to the team is something that we all love,” Cummins said. “And I think you see it in the way he plays his cricket. There’s a certain amount of freedom to it.”
“He takes the game on. He enjoys it. He’s always got a smile on his face. He never takes anything too seriously. He’s great at bringing the team together for team morale, for putting his arm around players that need it.
“Sometimes you can mistake that for someone who’s not a deep thinker about the game, but I think tactically, he’s excellent. So he’s got all the makings of a really strong leader like we’ve seen him do for South Australia for quite a few years and we’re making that a little bit more formal around the Aussie team.”
The Australian star David Warner will open the batting after getting the spot in the squad. Mitch Marsh will play in his home crowd in a Test at Perth Stadium for the first time. The all-rounder Cameron Green was edged out by his teammate during the Ashes.
Australia squad
(first Test only) Pat Cummins (c), Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Mitch Marsh, Lance Morris, Steve Smith, Mitch Starc, David Warner
Pakistan squad
Shan Masood (c), Aamir Jamal, Abdullah Shafique, Abrar Ahmed, Babar Azam, Faheem Ashraf, Hasan Ali, Imam-ul-Haq, Khurram Shahzad, Mir Hamza, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Noman Ali, Saim Ayub, Salman Ali Agha, Sarfaraz Ahmed (wk), Saud Shakeel and Shaheen Shah Afridi.
