Pat Cummins could not have asked for a better start to his stint as Australia’s Test captain as the fast bowler picked up a 5-wicket haul in the first innings of the first Ashes Test against England at the Gabba. Cummins took 5/38 as England were bundled out for 147 inside two sessions of the series opener.
Cummins bowled 13.1 overs and picked up 5 wickets, including that of Ben Stokes and a well-set Haseeb Hameed. In fact, Cummins’s first scalp as Australia’s Test captain was Stokes who was squared up by one that bounced a bit higher and left the left-hander.
With the 5-wicket haul, Pat Cummins became only the 2nd Australia captain after George Giffen in 1984 to pick a 5-wicket haul in first Test as skipper. Cummins also became the first captain to pick up a 5-wicket haul in an Ashes Test since Bob Willis in 1982.
Meanwhile, Cummins also joined an elite list of captains who have taken a 5-wicket haul on their first day in the top job. Notably, it was also Cummins’s first 5-wicket haul in Tests against England.
5-19 Charles Aubrey Smith – England v South Africa at Port Elizabeth in 1889
5-35 George Allen in England v India at Lord’s in 1936
7-52 Imran Khan – Pakistan vs England at Birmingham in 1982
5-38 Pat Cummins – Australia v England at Brisbane in 2021
Pat Cummins also became the first Australian captain Richie Benaud in 1962 to pick up a 5-wicket haul in Ashes and the first captain since Michael Clarke in 2012 to get 5 wickets in an innings.
Cummins led his team off the ground holding the Kookaburra ball aloft, enjoying a huge ovation from the Gabba crowd.
His pace colleague Josh Hazlewood ran forward from the deep to take a terrific low catch to boost his tally with the final wicket of Chris Woakes (21), who was reduced to desperate slogging.
Hazlewood did the same favour for Cameron Green, catching a rash pull by Ollie Pope (35) to hand the seam-bowling all-rounder his first test wicket.
England made a disastrous start after Joe Root won the toss and elected to bat on a grassy pitch, with Rory Burns becoming the first player dismissed with the opening ball of an Ashes series in 85 years, bowled around his legs by a searing Mitchell Starc delivery.
Root went for a duck, caught behind by debutant wicketkeeper Alex Carey off the bowling of Hazlewood, as England slumped to 59 for four at lunch.
