Pat Cummins has led Australia to the Cricket World Cup title – and to me, that is absolutely not surprising at all.
It is not a coincidence that Australia has been able to find success in a number of run chases under the leadership of Cummins.
Going back to the first Ashes Test of the year at Edgbaston, the Australians needed 282 to win, but they were quickly reduced to 8/227. From that point, Cummins created a formidable partnership with Nathan Lyon on a pitch that was assisting the bowlers and hit the winning runs with his bat while remaining not out on 44.
Furthermore, he was a part of probably the greatest ODI chase ever and assisted Glenn Maxwell in his heroic innings by defending the ball like a wall.
The result? Australia ended up securing a victory literally crawling back up from the jaws of defeat from being seven wickets down for 91 runs only. Then came the semifinal against South Africa, and once again, it was Patrick Cummins who hit the winning runs with his calmness and remarkable temperament.
Ever since Cummins took on the captaincy, he has been scrutinized and crucified by some for his captaincy skills. Calls were even made to make him resign from his position during the Ashes series.
It was said that his tactics were not good enough. Some even labelled him “un-Australian”. Has Pat Cummins made mistakes along the way? Yes, he has. But again, which captain has not?
Legends like MS Dhoni and Ricky Ponting were two of the best captains in cricket history, and yet they could not go about their business without making some errors. If they were allowed to make some mistakes then I do not know why Pat Cummins was not allowed to make a few in the early days of his captaincy.
Ironically, most of the criticism that went his way was unfounded and baseless. His tactics were not as bad as people made them to be.
Mitchell Starc and Pat Cummins of Australia celebrate victory over South Africa. (Photo by Matt Roberts-ICC/ICC via Getty Images)
With all said, any reservations people had about his tactics should be put to rest now. The Aussie captain has been astute on the tactical front throughout this World Cup.
The World Cup final is a testament to this fact. He single-handledly suffocated India’s batting lineup with his brilliant field changes and smart rotation of the bowlers.
In terms of his own performance, whenever Australia needed him the most he has delivered both with the bat and ball. On wickets where fast bowlers struggled, he stood tall by bowling the hard overs and taking crucial wickets at crucial times. Needless to say, his impact with the bat has been significant too.
Captaincy is not only about tactics, it covers a lot of other aspects. Cummins has brought an element of calmness in his leadership. He has maximised his players’ performances with this element.
It is clear that he has been able to cultivate a healthy dressing room environment and earn the respect of his players. A team is a reflection of its captain.
Every player looks up to their skipper, and this man has never put his head down in the face of adversity. No matter how difficult a situation is, he has always fought back with a smile on his face and has never lost his nerve.
When the rest of the players witness this, it invariably lifts their confidence as well. That is how impossible games are won, that is how a World Cup is won.
There has always been something extraordinary about Pat Cummins. Right from his debut, his body language on the field has been different. He has never engaged in needless sledging and has shown aggression through his game.
The way he handles press conferences and speaks to the media has been measured and mature. He exuded leadership qualities even before being appointed captain.
So no, it is not a surprise that Pat Cummins helped win the World Cup for Australia, and it will not be a great shock either if he turns out to be one of the all-time great captains in the history of cricket.
jammel
Roar Rookie
Very much agreed Shire.
matth
Roar Guru
Yeah that was just junk wasn’t it. I haven’t seen that poster before, or maybe I’ve just blocked them out :laughing: :laughing:
BigGordon
Roar Rookie
Yep my comments are weak and it shows how pitiful you are that you felt a need to point that out to me, even though "as a cricketer" you "would take zero interest". Such a shame a troll like you doesn't have the courag to post any thing intelligent on the subject.
Blink
Roar Rookie
Well I have seen your weak comments BG and as a cricketer would take zero interest. You obviously know sfa. My karen boy. Certainly Cummins is already achieving the best results of any Australian captain ever with his teams, whoever they may be. He demonstrates this repeatedly but the boy critics like to pretend they know something. What they know is very little about the game of cricket.
Woody
Roar Rookie
Fast bowling is a bloody tough job at its best, that's why those guys are rarely captains. Bob Willis of England recognised that in his time, and in 82-83 Ashes made the mistake of underbowling himself, even he was the best quick he had available. Geoff Lawson did a great job over a long period in NSW State cricket. I reckon Pat is doing a great job of it, of course he's made a few errors, we all do!
Rowdy
Roar Rookie
I swear this never came up on my phone after my last post last night. I've got a zoom mtg now. I'll comment later.
The Knightwatchmen who say Nii
Roar Rookie
As always Shire, you know your stuff.
Gamechanger
Roar Rookie
All that and Pat can’t, as captain of the winning side, make the ICC tournament side as captain instead of Rohit Sharma and bowler instead of G Coetzee. Who selected this side? The selection panel consisted of Ian Bishop, Kass Naidoo, Shane Watson (Commentators), Wasim Khan (ICC General Manager, Cricket) and Sunil Vaidya (Journalist, Ahmedabad Mirror). Mmm. The hidden selection panel was of course the BCCI. Why? six out of 11 Indians made the side.
badmanners
Roar Rookie
I've always been a fan of having bowling captains. Yep, it might be a job too big for many bowlers but that doesn't mean it's too big for all. The idea with all the neuro diversity out there in the world that there ISN'T some bowlers capable of handling it is absurd. I had some reservations re Cummins, firstly the likelihood of a quick getting injured is very real so the vice has to be up to the task (Smith obviously is) and more so that he didn't have any captaincy experience. This has been apparent at times but from all accounts he's an intelligent man and was not only given the task but has been given the time to learn and improve tactically to go along with his apparent people management skills. As been pointed out elsewhere here his team has won the World Test Championship and now the ODI World Cup. Not bad achievements to have on your resume. :thumbup:
Ouch
Roar Rookie
The old schoolers will always be against them no matter what they achieve.
Opeo
Roar Rookie
It does not matter what McDonald and Cummins do, they will always be criticised. Australia are world test champions and ODI world champions and some people are still unsure about them? It is ridiculous.
BigGordon
Roar Rookie
This is a really good "glass half full" article, Mashrur. You've painted a very positive picture of a captain who has been maligned but right now, deserves high praise for the way he's led Australia to an outstanding World Cup result. You're right, captaincy in broad terms, is about two things; actions on the field and actions off it. Cumins clearly manages the off-field leadership stuff really well. He's got a solid group of players right behind him and that came out with the purpose they displayed to get back into the World Cup, after a disastrous start, then win it. I still think the jury's out for many, including myself, about his on-field captaincy. Those last two games against South Africa and India suggested he's growing into the tactical role, but I still recall his forlorn efforts in the Ashes, where he seemed to have little or no clue, when put under pressure by attacking batsmen. He's been helped by having (arguably) the best attack in Test cricket, but how will he go when they start to drop out of the team? I truly hope he develops into one of the great captains, both for the sake of Australian cricket, but to also put to bed the myth that bowlers can't lead cricket teams.
Shire
Roar Rookie
"Captaincy is not only about tactics, it covers a lot of other aspects. Cummins has brought an element of calmness in his leadership. He has maximised his players’ performances with this element." I'll quickly latch onto this comment to actually talk about another captain, because it IS a very good point. People have often said that anyone could have captained the Australian side that was under SR Waugh in 99-03, but many former players (Langer and Gilchrist, for instance) have spoken about how important Waugh was as an inspirational, respected figurehead that created an ambitious, winning culture within the side. I thought that Cummins finally put in a complete performance as captain in the final. Great fields (aided by sensational fielding), well-timed bowling changes (after some shockers in previous games), and he led from the front with some fantastic bowling. Hopefully he can keep it up, although I suspect something will have to give and he'll need to give up the captaincy in one of the formats in order to stop it from impacting on his own performance as a bowler. I'm prepared to eat my words, but I'd rather Pat average 21 in Tests with the ball under a different captain than average say, 25, as captain.
Opeo
Roar Rookie
I wonder if the McDonald/Cummins bathers will be admitting that they are idiots. Australia are now test and ODI champions and they now possess every test trophy that they compete for, except for the BGT, which Langer and Paine coughed up at home.