Ian Smith Australia Test captain Pat Cummins had a quadricep soreness on day three of the first Test against West Indies and he did not bowl again in the remainder of the game. However, Cummins was spotted on the field again on the final day which raised several questions among the experts in the commentary panel.
Steve Smith took over the captaincy once Cummins was injured and West Indies managed to take the game to the fifth day with seven wickets remaining. Cummins did not bowl again but he still wanted to captain the side which was a risky decision. He even chased down a delivery sprinting and ended up aggravating his injury further.
Speaking on Pat Cummins’ injury, Ian Smith revealed his concerns over the Australia skipper playing in the second Test during his commentary stint on air.
“I’m telling you, that is not the action of a guy who’s going to be bowling in Test cricket in four days’ time,” Smith said on Fox Cricket.
Smith felt that Cummins’ should first focus on his bowling rather than the captaincy and questioned his presence on the field despite the injury. He further felt that the fast bowler should not have taken the field unless he was sure of not aggravating the injury.
“Why would he be on the field? I take your point about leading from the front and being part of the victory, but when it comes to his main job in the side, outside of that, is bowling. So he can’t do his main role in the field as such. He must’ve been guaranteed the fact that he can’t do any more damage while he’s out there. Otherwise, there’s no point in being out there at all. I like the sentimental side of things, but…” Smith concluded.
Australia has taken a 1-0 lead after winning the first Test against West Indies by 164 runs. Marnus Labuschangne and Steve Smith both scored double centuries.
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