Steve Smith was appointed as the vice-captain of the Australian side after Pat Cummins was promoted as the skipper and a small instance of the leadership partnership between the two became visible during the first Ashes Test in Brisbane. Smith asked Cummins to bowl to Ben Stokes when the new captain was looking to hand over the ball to Mitchell Starc.
Cummins eventually scalped Stokes’ wicket. “I was going to bowl Starccy one more and Smithy kind of tapped me on the shoulder and said, ‘I think it’s your turn’,” Cummins told reporters after play.
Australia took a 1-0 lead in the five-match series after winning the first encounter by 9 wickets. The visitors were bundled out for 297 despite a good day at the office on Day 3 of the Test.
Captain Joe Root and Dawid Malan were the overnight batsmen for England but their departure saw wickets falling at a quick succession. Spinner Nathan Lyon who has had a long wicket drought returned with a four-for in the innings while Cummins and Green picked up a couple of wickets apiece.
The two teams will now lock horns with each other in the second Test in Adelaide scheduled to begin on December 16.