Aussie cricket captain Pat Cummins suffers every Test cricketer's worst nightmare ahead of West Indies clash

Daily Mail​

15 hours ago

Pat Cummins ' baggy green cap has reportedly gone missing.
The Aussie skipper had turned up to a pre-series photo shoot with West Indies captain Roston Chase wearing a new cap.
But according to The Daily Telegraph, Cummins had lost the hat sometime between the photo shoot and the toss.
It is understood that the hat has still not been found.
It comes as the Aussie cricket captain had opted against repairing his old cap and instead sought out a new one, which he had planned to debut during last week's 159-run victory against the West Indies in Barbados.
His new cap was one of the last hats to be made by manufacturer Albion, who had lost the rights to make the famous caps to Kookaburra back in 2016.
But the Aussie skipper arrived for the toss at the Kensington Oval last week wearing his old baggy green, which he recieved ahead of his debut against South Africa in 2011.
Cummins isn't the first Aussie cricketer in the past year to lose his baggy green.
David Warner was reunited with his missing cap during the side's Test series against Pakistan in November.
The New South Wales batsman took to social media to plea to his followers to find the missing hat after his backpack, in which he had stored the hat, was stolen.
Australian players are given their baggy green hats when they make their first appearance for the Test side and the caps are treasured by members of the team.
Aussie cricket legend great Greg Chappell was also forced to issue a plea to the public after his baggy green went missing from a storage facility in Brisbane last year.
Australia resume their three-match series against the West Indies later this week and coach Andrew McDonald has urged fans to be patient when it comes to young batter Sam Konstas.
Konstas was recalled for the first match on Australia's three-Test tour of the West Indies, which the visitors won by 159 runs on day three.
The 19-year-old opener logged scores of three and five in tricky conditions, with ball dominating bat throughout the match.
His second innings spanned almost an hour but was devoid of fluency and full of frustration, with speed demon Shamar Joseph creating two chances before Konstas had scored.
McDonald is preparing to rejig Australia's top four yet again.
Steve Smith is set to prove he is ready to return from a finger injury in Grenada, where the series resumes on Friday morning (AEST).
Josh Inglis appears the batter most likely to make way for Smith, who is set to link up with the squad after a stint in New York.
But Konstas, who set the bar extremely high with a breathtaking Test debut on Boxing Day, is set to be given a lengthy opportunity to nail down his spot at the top of the order.
'We've had some conversations around, 'potentially if you're in that situation again, what does that look like?' and that's what experience is,' McDonald told reporters in Barbados.
'It's learning from previous events and trying to implement a way through that. It felt like he was stuck at times and he was over-aggressive and then (he) underplayed.
'It's really that balance and tempo ... that's a step up to Test cricket.
'He's got a really good partner down the other end (Usman Khawaja). That, over time, I think, will play out. That's all we ask for - a bit of patience and time with a young player coming into Test cricket.'
Australia have a chance to wrap up a series win in the second Test but the bigger picture at play with their Konstas conundrum is this summer's home Ashes.
The right-hander's technique has been a near-constant topic of debate since he burst onto the scene against India then was axed for Australia's tour of Sri Lanka.
'He knows his deficiencies,' McDonald said.
'But, from a batting perspective, I encourage all players to learn to play with their deficiencies. I don't think there's such a thing as a perfect technique.
'If that's what you're looking for then I think you're looking in the wrong place.'
McDonald confirmed Smith, who suffered his injury while dropping a catch at Lord's in the World Test Championship final, was on track to bolster Australia's batting order.
'There'll be no risk to long-term health of that finger. He'll return and I think it's likely he'll play,' McDonald said.