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Australia to unveil new DRS brains trust

3 minute read

Debutant wicketkeeper Alex Carey and first-time captain Pat Cummins will be central to improving Australia's use of the decision review system.

ALEX CAREY
ALEX CAREY Picture: David Rogers/Getty Images

It's something Australia's Test team has never quite mastered and Pat Cummins isn't claiming he's got all the answers.

But the new captain admits he will rely on his gut instinct when it comes to the decision review system (DRS), while debutant wicketkeeper Alex Carey also has a crucial role to play.

Confirming he'll rarely, if ever, field at fine leg, Cummins said he'd lean on the man behind the stumps, the bowler and someone square of the wicket before forming an opinion of his own.

"Not really," he laughed when asked if he rated himself as a good reviewer.

"But it is gut feel, as silly as it sounds, it's as good a measure as everything else with things happening quickly.

"You've got to be really clear in your decision-making and Alex (Carey) will have a big role to play in that.

"The other part is that the umpires are pretty good, so we're going to get some wrong."

Cummins's predecessors have battled with the technology ever since it was introduced by the ICC in Tests in 2009.

"It's an area we've actually, since it's started, been pretty poor at it to be frank," vice-captain and former skipper Steve Smith said.

"We're always discussing ways we can get better at it."

Smith backed Carey, 30, to provide a calm head despite his inexperience at Test level.

"He's (Carey) played a bit for Australia now (in limited overs cricket), playing his first Test series but he's confident and it'll be about being really clear and definitive with his answers because it's hard to sit on the fence in DRS," Smith said.

"Patty at mid-on, bowler, wicketkeeper, someone square for the height and everyone else stay out of it unless they've seen something out of the ordinary."

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