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'Warner Was Fantastic...,' Cummins Defends Warner After Another Poor Performance 

image-ljvlwsgtPat Cummins with Australian teammates in Leeds (Twitter)

Australia conceded the third Test of the 2023 Ashes to hosts England, despite being benefitted with a handy first-innings lead earlier in the match. The visitors failed to restrict the Englishmen within 251, courtesy of Harry Brook’s sublime 75 in a tense run-chase on Day 4.

After the match, Australian skipper Pat Cummins cited their batting collapse from the opening day as one of the reasons behind their narrow defeat at Leeds. The bowling veteran claimed that his team kept missing crucial opportunities throughout the Test, and he also defended David Warner’s inclusion in the side despite his recent failures against Stuart Broad.

Pat Cummins praises Mitchell Marsh for brilliant Test comeback

Australia, at one stage, reached 240-4 on Day 1 to take early control of the third Test. However, they lost their final six wickets in a space of 52 deliveries to add just 23 more runs to their innings.

Australian captain Pat Cummins described their opening day’s batting collapse as one of the reasons behind their close defeat to the hosts. The cricketer also described the ongoing series as a closely-contested one, with both teams fighting it out against each other session-by-session. During the post-match presentation, he said:

“There's a few moments that went back and forth. Day one we lost 6 for 20-odd, yesterday the sun was out and we missed an opportunity. Few key moments. Seems like a series where each sessions swings in one team's favour and then the other,”

Cummins claimed that he thought his side was still in control in the second innings, however, early wickets to English spinner Moeen Ali restricted their lead to just 250.

“One of those moments when it felt like we were in control but we lost a couple of wickets and that happens. Thought getting up to 250 gave us something but it wasn't quite enough,”

The pace veteran defended David Warner’s inclusion in the side, despite the opener’s repeated failures off late. He praised Warner for his fighting first-innings effort at Lord’s, where he registered his only fifty-plus score of the tour.

“Warner was fantastic last week at Lord's, really happy with how everyone's going. Mitchell Marsh was awesome, four years last game. Great to see him back in, few headaches ahead. Few days off to recharge, people are flying off to various places but we'll come back together excited for Manchester.”

Cummins later praised comeback all-rounder Mitchell Marsh for his sublime efforts with both bat and ball. The captain further stated that the team is looking forward to the break before the start of the fourth Test of the series, which is scheduled to commence on July 19 in Manchester.