After Edgbaston Debacle, England Should Prepare For Pat Cummins - 'The Batter'
Before his appointment as the Australian captain, the big question concerning Pat Cummins, who’s clearly breathing normally at the moment unlike England, was this: Could a hard-as-nails fast bowler take Australian cricket in the right direction one that does not necessarily bear the “win at all costs” mentality as opposed to some of the previous leaders?
The answer, as it can be seen, is here among us.
Not only has the man with the persona of a controlled, an almost bookish breed of fast bowler won the much coveted World Test Championship final, he has now fired the opening salvo in what’s considered the greatest rivalry in the international game.
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Such glorious triumphs don’t always necessarily happen within a short span of time.
But it could be argued that Pat Cummins, who’s already been a great part of the T20 World Cup winning Australian side, would’ve already directed his focus at the next Ashes Test slated to begin from June 28.
Though what can’t- and mustn’t- be discarded is just what a huge part Pat Cummins, the batsman played in the recent victorious Test match held at Edgbaston.
After surprisingly emerging wicketless in the first England innings, wherein he found no success whatsoever in a fourteen over spell, the Pat Cummins of the old; dead accurate, bouncy and the one functioning with penetrating pace, emerged in the third innings of the Test.
At all these times, Cummins, the captain was an important sight that didn’t wane away thanks to the disappointment of his outing with the red ball earlier.
Plotting plans along with the senior think tank of his team, Smith and Lyon, to devise plans to curtail a Root and Stokes - Pat Cummins was still very much a man on the job.
But removing the top order in England’s final inning with the exception of Crawley and later on, bringing about the much anticipated downfall of Ben Stokes (for 43), Pat Cummins was just blooming into an exceptional and ultimately, winning performance.
For sure, for someone who’s been around since 2011, he may have been a part of more keenly contested games but few would match the ebbs and flows of an unmissable Ashes Test that only recently got completed.
Even fewer would’ve carried the faint whiff of hope of an Australian victory with seven wickets down and the margin of win at still some distance.
Wouldn’t Pat himself agree?
Regardless, by the time he came into bat with the always reliable Usman Khwaja dismissed as the seventh wicket and the score reading 209, Australia were still nowhere in touching distance of a win.
They needed another 72. Carey, for all his talent and often an underrated one, wasn’t really looking too sure of himself.
But when a captain like Pat Cummins walks in, you’d much rather have a go - instead of shying away from-the victory instead of concluding that your chances are about done.
And that a draw must be the only realistic target!
From that point on, with the maiden Ashes 2023 contest hanging on the knife’s edge, Pat Cummins, the batter played in the skin of a captain who likes to lead by an example.
Was that, rather considerably, the most vital Australian performance besides Khawaja’s gritty ton in the first inning?
We can have our versions.
But truth be told, the Englishmen, who threw everything at a proper tail end batter known for the willingness to hang in there, would soon be hanging by the loose end of the thread.
As Cummins put on those brave runs with Alex Carey looking a touch fidgety at the other end, the fading hope of an Australian victory would soon regain newfound flight.
Little was spent thinking about the big “what if” the Stokes delivery to Carey had actually rolled back on to the stumps.
More was cared, as one noted, on how to lessen the margin of victory before the second new ball was available.
And it ought to be said, the brave hit off Root down the ground was a hit of belief; ever so more than a boundary.
But the two big sixes off Root that took off from the meat of the bat not long after Carey had departed were perhaps more indicative of Australia now holding more than some outside chance at winning than any shot before in their inning.
That they came from the bat of the skipper was perhaps just as glorious as the final savoury taste of victory.
The winning runs and the manic celebrations thereafter were eventually testimony to the fact that whenever Australian hopes are stuttering, Pat comes the reply to forge a path toward victory.
The series has just had an excellent kick start and truth be told, where recent form is an indication, England can be sure that there’s loads more Cummins their way!
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