Who would have thought the foundation for Test captaincy was laid by bowling heavily restricted spells at North Dalton Park.
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Five years ago, Pat Cummins was taking his first small steps towards an international comeback, playing a Futures League match for NSW against the ACT.
On a strictly managed workload, Cummins was sending down pure heat at Wollongong's premier cricket venue, bowling just 15 overs in the first innings for a return 3-39, before backing it up with 1-34 off just eight overs in the second.
The match itself was a thriller, as NSW launched an audacious run chase, needing 479 to win, only to fall six runs short at stumps on the last day, Nick Larkin leading the charge with a double century.
The ACT needed just two wickets.
But Cummins was the headline act amongst it all, even if he spent precious little time in action, as he nursed his back to full fitness.
At the time, wearing the Baggy Green again was a distant dream, after bursting on the Test scene in 2011, only to be hampered by injury for the next five years.
"I know I've got to play some Shield cricket to get back into the Test side," Cummins said during his Futures return.
"I don't want to rush anything, just stick to the plan and put in some good performances and then talk about some other stuff."
Now Cummins, in the wake of the Tim Paine saga, will lead Australia into the battle for the Ashes, starting at the Gabba on Wednesday.
The 28-year-old will become just the second quick to captain Australia after Ray Lindwall in 1956, and the first to do it on a full-time basis.
Spinners have also rarely filled the role, with Richie Benaud in 1963 the last bowler to lead at all.
Cummins has already confirm he will lean on former captain Steve Smith to make tactical decisions in the heat of battle. Paine stepped into the role to replace Smith after the sandpaper scandal, only to resign himself over an indecent text message sent in 2017.
"It might look a little bit different from the outside to potentially other captains in the past," Cummins said.
"One of the big reasons why there's been talk around fast bowlers not being able to captain in the past, is just the workload issue.
"There's going to be times where I'm out in the middle, it's a hot day, I'm in the middle of a spell and I need to turn to people for advice, for tactics, for experience.
"And that's the main reason why I wanted Steve to be vice-captain.
"There will be times on the field where I'll throw to Steve and you'll see Steve move fielders around, maybe doing bowling changes."
Meanwhile, Cummins will rely on his gut instinct when it comes to the decision review system, while debutant wicketkeeper Alex Carey also has a crucial role.
Confirming he'll rarely, if ever, field at fine leg, Cummins said he'd lean on Carey, the bowler and someone square of the wicket before forming his opinion.
"It is gut feel, as silly as it sounds, it's as good a measure as everything else with things happening quickly," Cummins said.
"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." with AAP
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Tim Barrow
When it comes to sport - at professional and community level - in the Illawarra, I'm here to provide insight, context and opinion, as well as the latest news you won't find anywhere else.
When it comes to sport - at professional and community level - in the Illawarra, I'm here to provide insight, context and opinion, as well as the latest news you won't find anywhere else.
