Fresh from another match-saving innings for Australia at the MCG against Pakistan on Monday night, it seems Pat Cummins has never seen the cricket ball more clearly.
The Australian captain, who rescued the hosts from a mini-collapse when scoring an unbeaten 32 in the two-wicket win, was as crisp with the bat as he was superb with the ball.
Pipped for man of the match honours by his fast-bowling mate Mitchell Starc, who shone again when finishing with 3-33, Cummins guided Australia past Pakistan’s total of 203.
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“Now that he has got his eyes fixed, we’ve been arguing for a couple of years that he should be batting above me,” Starc said.
“So he’s cemented that, I hope. It was a fantastic way for him to bring it home. Obviously the intent at the start from the guys was what we were after. We obviously (lost) a few too many wickets, but it was a positive start to the summer.”
When quizzed to clarify on Cummins’ improved vision, Starc turned to the Australian team’s communication chief to ask; “Is that not common knowledge?”
He then suggested the journalists in attendance “maybe ask him” before going on to praise Cummins, who struck four fours in a match Australia secured with 99 balls remaining.
The Australian captain has not been dismissed in his three most recent ODI innings dating back to the triumphant World Cup, where he earned rave reviews for the patience he showed when batting alongside Glenn Maxwell during the latter’s record-breaking feat against Afghanistan.
In his last eight innings dating back to the start of the 2023 World Cup in India, he has been dismissed just three times while adding 145 runs as a lower-order batter.
“There were a few comments in the dugout – a few of the batters were making comments – about the positions he has been in and the way he has been hitting the ball, he looked like he had more time than he may have in the past,” Starc said.
“Whether he has been working on that in private, I don’t know. But it was certainly very much appreciated tonight from the group.”
Starc, meanwhile, continued his superb start to the season, following up a quality effort against Victoria in a Sheffield Shield match last month with decisive spells on Monday.
After battling fatigue and injury issues leading into last summer, the 35-year-old declared he felt the best he has in years leading into an Australian summer.
He is expected to play in an ODI in Adelaide on Friday, but the primary focus is on the Border Gavaskar Trophy series against India beginning in Perth on November 22.
Starc takes first wicket of the summer! | 00:39
“(I was) coming off a few issues through the World Cup into last summer, (and) in comparison to this summer, I feel like my body is in a good space,” he said.
“I felt like I had a really good rhythm and felt really good last week in the Shield game. It is not really (about) tweaking a few things, but just focusing on a few things technically, I think, with the physical aspect of it, the body is in a much better place than last year.”
