Veteran Australian pacer Mitchell Starc was happy that a fellow fast bowler took on captaincy and achieved incredible success in a short span of time. Australia handed over Test and ODI captaincy to Pat Cummins in one of the rarest appointments of a bowler as skipper of the senior national men’s team. However, in a span of a couple of years, Pat Cummins has helped Australia retain the Ashes in England, win the World Test Championship final and the World Cup 2023 trophy in India.
Cummins was terrific on the night of the final in Ahmedabad as Australia stopped the Indian juggernaut which looked invincible in the lead-up to the big final. Cummins delivered with the ball, picking the big wickets of Virat Kohli and Shreyas Iyer, and was on top of his game in terms of tactics, bowling changes and field placements.
Pat Cummins joined an elite list of Australian men’s team captains to lift the ODI World Cup trophy as Australia won the title for the 6th time in their history.
It was not a smooth ride for Cummins as he faced a barrage of criticism at the onset of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023. Critics questioned his limited experience as captain in the shorter format, having led the national side in only four games prior to the tournament. The scrutiny intensified after Australia’s disheartening losses to India and South Africa early in the competition, with some pundits even calling for his replacement.
Shedding light on Pat Cummins’s approach to captaincy, Starc said the fast bowler was not afraid to take the road less traveled in terms of his outlook and approach to leading the decorated Australian side.
“He (Cummins) has been phenomenal – the last few months have spoken to that, “He certainly had his critics. There’s an opinion that (the captaincy) has to be done a certain way (but) Pat’s never been fazed by that or outside noise. A lot of (Australia’s success) has to do with the way Pat captained through the World Cup, particularly that last game.
“Things were done differently and bravely, and we’re standing here with the trophy,” Starc said while posing with the trophy along with Cummins at the Sydney Cricket Ground on Tuesday, November 28.
