Australia’s Travis Head, left, fist bumps with batting partner Steve Smith after scoring runs during play on day two of the third cricket test between India and Australia at the Gabba in Brisbane, Australia, Sunday, Dec.15, 2024. (AP Photo/Pat Hoelscher)
Besides scoring a bagful of runs, Travis Head is also joint vice-captain for Australia, according to the team named on Friday for the Boxing Day Test. He shares co-vice captaincy with Steve Smith who will effectively step in with the leaders armband whenever Cummins is absent on the field.
It is not the first time, and Cummins himself was co-vice captain with Head, when Tim Paine led the Baggy Greens.
Explaining the system, Wisden wrote, that ‘Australia have had two Test vice-captains for nearly six years, the latest instance of it being when they promoted the left-hander to the role ahead of the Pakistan Test series in December 2023.’
Cummins was quoted from last year by Wisden as saying, “Really excited to have Trav on board as the co vice captain. 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 recognise that.”
The rationale is that Head needed to be readied into easing into a job, which though not imminent might be likely. “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,” Cummins was quoted as saying from last year.
Cummins and Head had succeeded previous co-vice-captains Mitchell Marsh and Josh Hazlewood in 2019. ‘Head lost the title after he was dropped during the 2020-21 home series against India, only to be reinstated three years later,’ Wisden wrote.
Cummins had clarified however that being co vice captain didn’t guarantee a succession. “It doesn’t guarantee anything. 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 my last couple 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,” Cummins had said.
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