Cummins backs individuals in chase for team success

One of the defining characteristics of the Australia men's team under Pat Cummins' captaincy has been its preparedness to embrace individual differences in pursuit of collective success, and rarely has that ethos been more prominent than in Perth today.

In the space of an eventful hour on the eve of the opening NRMA Insurance Test against Pakistan, focus oscillated between Australia opener Usman Khawaja's human rights messaging upon a pair of training shoes and teammate Travis Head's elevation to the role of co-vice captain alongside Steve Smith.

The former issue had arisen with revelations Khawaja had donned shoes carrying the words 'Freedom is a human right' and 'All lives are equal' while at training earlier this week.

Cricket Australia issued a statement today that said: "We support the right of our players to express personal opinions … but the ICC has rules in place which prohibit the display of personal messages which we expect the players to uphold."

Khawaja then released a video through his social media channels in which he reiterated the messages aren't political and related to generic human rights and not a specific political cause.

He also revealed he has received significant negative feedback about his stance since it became public today, but indicated his intention to overturn the ICC ban on wearing them on-field during the first Test.

"The ICC have told me I can't wear my shoes on-field because they believe it's a political statement under their guidelines," he said in the video.

"I don't believe it is so. It's a humanitarian appeal.

"I will respect their view and their decision, but I will fight it and seek to gain approval."

When he fronted reporters for his scheduled pre-Test media conference shortly after, Cummins confirmed that Khawaja would not be wearing the footwear in question during the Test but stood staunchly behind his veteran opener who is a thoughtful spokesman on a myriad of issues.

"I think it's one of our strongest points, our team, that everyone has their own passionate views and individual thoughts," Cummins said.

"I chatted to 'Uzzie' (Khawaja) briefly about it today, and I don't think his intention is to make too big of a fuss but we support him.

"I think it just drew the attention to the ICC rules, which I don't know if Uzzie was across beforehand.

"On his shoes he has 'All lives are equal', I think that's not very divisive.

"I don't think anyone can have too many complaints about that."

The announcement of Head's promotion to the Test team's leadership group came less than 10 minutes prior to the Khawaja statement and offered the Australia captain a chance to further underscore the philosophy that has helped underpin the recent successes shared by his men.

Head spoke earlier this week about how the current team environment had enabled him to shed his predilection for taking on advice as to how he should play, and instead encouraged him to bat according to his natural instincts and strengths.

Having lost his place in the Test line-up three times following his debut in 2018, and somewhat surprisingly his CA contract in 2021, Head returned to the starting XI during this year's India tour and was subsequently player of the match in Australia's World Test Championship and World Cup final triumphs.

"I think sometimes being open minded and changing has perhaps affected the way I performed," Head said in Perth this week.

"In the last 18 months I've gone back to the way of playing the way I would in Shield cricket and I guess the (team) environment as well, to be able to go out and express myself and play the way I see the game."

Cummins confirmed it's as much Head's infectious personality as his irrepressible strokeplay that has brought about his return to the vice-captaincy position, to which he was previously installed in early 2019 before being dumped from the Test team during that year's Ashes campaign in the UK.

The now 29-year-old was just 21 when named as South Australia captain in 2015, making him the youngest skipper in the state team's 130-year history and second-youngest in the Marsh Sheffield Shield competition after 20-year-old Cameron White was appointed to lead Victoria in 2003.

Head also gained leadership experience as Australia under-19 captain and led SA's under-19s to their national championship title win in 2012-13.

"I think the personality he brings to the team is something we all love, and I think you see it in the way he plays his cricket," Cummins said.

"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 and 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 (to) make that a bit more formal around the Aussie team."

Coincidentally, Cummins was the other deputy alongside Head appointed under then skipper Tim Paine's leadership in early 2019, after incumbent vice-captains Josh Hazlewood (injured) and Mitchell Marsh (omitted) were no longer available.

Cummins reiterated today's decision to elevate Head – with Smith still assuming leadership duties when Cummins is absent from the field – does not constitute endorsement of the left-hander as Australia's next skipper-in-waiting.

But he acknowledged the appointment provided an opportunity for Head to further hone his captaincy credentials, as Cummins himself had done as Paine's deputy before assuming the job in his own right just weeks before the start of the 2021-22 Ashes series in Australia.

"When you're looking at candidates for future captains, of course he's going to be right up there," Cummins said of Head's place in the Test outfit's succession planning.

"I know in my 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 or it might be someone else, but we want to be sure they're as prepared as they can be."

NRMA Insurance Test series v Pakistan

First Test: December 14-18, Perth Stadium (1.20pm AEDT)

Second Test: December 26-30, MCG (10.30am AEDT)

Third Test: January 3-7, SCG (10.30am AEDT)

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