Pat Cummins Esquire Australia

I WAS 15 YEARS old at the time. We were away from home on a hockey tour and our coach had cornered me. I knew exactly what he wanted to talk about: with the senior boys about to graduate, we needed a new captain to lead the team. After years of patient waiting, my time had finally come. And I had my pitch ready to go. Then, my coach said something I didnā€™t see coming: ā€œYou know, the best captains never want to be captains in the first place,ā€ he told me.

That threw me. You see, I did want to be captain. Desperately so. I wanted to wear the armband and be known not just as a good player, but as a good captain. A leader. And, if Iā€™m honest, I thought I deserved the job. But in that moment, I froze. I mumbled agreement as it was explained to me that the best captains take on the mantle reluctantly; they do it not for the accolades but because they understand that with that privilege comes responsibility.

I never did get the armband. In fact, it went to my best mateā€”brutal, I know. But that conversation has stuck with me ever since. It was a reminder that titles mean nothing; itā€™s what you do with them that matters. My desire to be captain was about me looking cool in front of my friends rather than recognising the good I could do in leading a group of my peers. I wanted the fame, not the responsibility.

Iā€™ve thought about that episode a lot while observing Pat Cummins over the past 12 months. Winning the World Cup, retaining the Ashes, being recognised as the best bowler in the world: itā€™s been a hell of a year for the 30-year-old from the Blue Mountains. But, as is the burden of his position, Cumminsā€™ platform extends far beyond the wicket, making his performances in press conferences just as impactful as those on the field.

ā€œI feel a real responsibility as a captain, as an Australian player, to leave cricket in a really good place,ā€ Cummins tells Esquire. ā€œBut the same with other causes. Youā€™re an adult, youā€™ve got a voice, kids look up to you. I feel like there is some level of responsibility to try and do whatā€™s best.ā€

His opinions may not always endear him to everyone, but thatā€™s the point. Heā€™s not speaking up about societal issues because he enjoys stoking the fire, but because he feels compelled. Unlike me, Cummins didnā€™t seek out the limelight; it was thrust upon him. The same could be said for another one of this issueā€™s stars, the comedian Bassem Youssef. Following an unlikely appearance on Piers Morgan Uncensored, discussing the war in Gaza, the Egyptian suddenly found himself a voice for the dispossessed. ā€œI do what I do because I feel it is the right thing,ā€ he says, as if it really is that simple.

And maybe it is. After all, as Cummins says, we all have a voice. It takes a leader to know how to use it.

Editor’s portrait: Tristan Stefan Edouard.

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