Test captain Pat Cummins has been urged to give the Australian public a “clear opinion” on his role in Cricket Australia’s handling of the Justin Langer coaching fiasco or risk having a tainted tenure as skipper.
Former Test captain Michael Clarke said Cummins had been “smoked” by former teammate Mitchell Johnson, who called the current skipper “gutless” for failing to fully back Langer.
Clarke said Cummins had been put in a “lose-lose” situation by CA amid talk of player power being behind Langer’s ousting, which has earned huge amounts of vitriol from some of the biggest names in the game.
“The Australian public aren’t stupid and this is my point with Pat Cummins,” Clarke said on Monday.
“His reputation is squeaky-clean. Right now it has taken a hit, until he stands there and voices his opinion. Look what Mitchell Johnson said about Pat Cummins. A teammate, a friend of his has smoked him.
“My advice to Patty is he has got to stand there. He needs to tell the fans where he sits on this because everyone thinks it is Patty who made the decision. That accountability sits with him.
“He is trying to honour both parties and has done it very well. He is trying to look after Cricket Australia. I don’t like seeing Pat get smacked for this because I think he is in a lose-lose situation. He sits right in the middle.”
CA boss Nick Hockley defended Cummins and said criticism of the skipper, who was consulted as part of the process in dealing with Langer, was “unfair”.
But Clarke said there was value in Cummins, who is part of the Australian T20 squad set to play Sri Lanka this week, putting the speculation to bed.
“Patty needs to come out and make his opinion very clear,” Clarke told The Big Sports Breakfast.
“Cricket Australia have to allow him to be open and honest, otherwise he will be blamed for this. A lot of people are smashing him for this.
“I saw Mitchell Johnson’s comments, he smoked him. I think a lot of people are thinking what Mitch is thinking. You’ve got the likes of Mark Taylor talking about it, Steve Waugh making comments, Ricky Ponting’s comments are very strong.
“When Steve Waugh comes out and says something that’s big. He’s not paid by anyone. For him to come out and make a comment, this thing is heavy. You’ve got past legends fuming with how a 100-Test player and very successful coach has been treated.
“I’m suggesting to Pat Cummins as the leader, he needs to stand tall and explain to past players – Mitchell Johnson, Steve Waugh, Ricky Ponting, Matthew Hayden – plus the fans and cricket lovers, what the hell is going on here?
“My question is how much involvement did Pat have? Did he want this change and (if so) why? Bring on accountability. When you lose, that’s on you as captain. If this is what Patty wants, respect to him but he’s going to have to take the hits as well.”
Langer resigned on Saturday after only being offered a six-month contract extension despite winning the T20 World Cup and thxjmtzywe Ashes.
