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‘Pat needs to explain what the hell is going on’: After Johnson's brutal attack, Clarke urges Cummins to come clean
Former Australia pacer Mitchell Johnson called the skipper "gutless" also stating the pacer “failed his first big test as captain pretty miserably.”
Ever since Justin Langer's resignation as Australia head coach, recently appointed Test captain Pat Cummins has been under fire. Former Australia pacer Mitchell Johnson called the skipper "gutless" also stating the pacer “failed his first big test as captain pretty miserably.”
Now former Australia captain and Johnson's teammate, Michael Clarke has jumped to the discussion, urging the captain to provide some clarity to the fans, who he assumes are under the opinion that Cummins had a role in Langer's unexpected resignation.
“The Australian public aren’t stupid and this is my point with Pat Cummins,” Clarke was quoted as saying in a report by news.com.au.
“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 further stated.
Clarke also stated he is not happy with how things have developed and feels Cummins is in a lose-lose situation.
“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,” added Clarke.
The former Australian captain insisted that Cummins to publicly address the matter, adding Cricket Australia must allow him to be honest.
“Patty needs to come out and make his opinion very clear. 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?"
Clarke also wondered if Cummins himself wanted the change and if yes then we should respect his decision.
“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,” concluded Clarke.
Langer, who guided Australia to World T20 title and a comprehensive Ashes win, resigned last week after he was only offered a six-month contract extension.
Meanwhile, Langer's former teammate and wicketkeeper Adam Gilchrist also slammed the country's cricket board for presenting outgoing coach as a "monster".
"I don't care to listen to any more of the corporate speak about transition and analysis of the coaching position and all that needs analysis and requirements and evolution," Gilchrist was quoted as saying in the same report.
"That's just covering up that the players and certain support staff around that team have spoken and they no longer want Justin there. He's been painted by some particular people as a monster, that is not Justin Langer," the former wicketkeeper-batter added.
Gilchrist also noted that Langer is the kind of person who admits his mistake and works on them and condemned how Cricket Australia has handled the situation.
“He'll be the first to admit he has his frailties, he has his areas of weakness, but gee, he'll sit and look you in the eye and work it out with you.”
“So, to be painted as a monster, what sort of affect would that have on you personally and what's the flow-on effect to your family and the people that are nearest and dearest to you, particularly through a period of time when you're not nearly understanding what is going on, the consistent innuendo and rumour.”
“I think it's quite reckless and some of the decision making over a long period of time has been fueled by greed and it really leaves me staggered.”
"I think he stated it perfectly in his resignation letter, honesty, respect, trust, truth performance."
Meanwhile, former pacer Johnson in a column for The West Australian wrote: “Pat Cummins has been lauded as some type of cricketing saint since his elevation to the top job this summer. Cummins might have delivered with the ball during the Ashes series, but he has failed his first big test as captain pretty miserably.”
"He had plenty of public opportunities to endorse an extension for Langer. So when he let it through to the keeper every time, it became pretty obvious he didn't want it to happen. Cummins holds a lot of power and must have been central to what's happened. He's clearly had an agenda to get in a coach he wants. His recent interviews have been gutless by not respecting his coach when he could have been upfront from the start," he added.
Langer was appointed as the men's team coach in 2018 after the Sandpaper Gate which saw David Warner, Steve Smith serving out one-year bans.
