Melbourne [Australia], December 25 : Australian skipper Pat Cummins on Monday expressed happiness at how the Australian team navigated through various challenges throughout the year, starting from their tour to India to triumphs in the ICC World Test Championship, the Ashes and ICC Cricket World Cup in India.
The skipper also talked about the possibility of going into the 2027 Cricket World Cup as a player or a captain.
It was an incredible year for Cummins and his boys. Despite losing the Border-Gavaskar Trophy to India, Australia peaked at the right moments in the coming months, retaining the Ashes following a high-intensity series that ended in a 2-2 draw and delivered twin heartbreak to Indian players and supporters by beating the Asian giants in the finals of ICC World Test Championship and ICC Cricket World Cup.
"These four tours do not get any bigger," he told Sydney Morning Herald.
"India into WTC, into Ashes, into the World Cup. I am really proud, if we go back to the Ashes, about how the group conducted themselves the whole time. You are dealing with fatigue, you are dealing with form, pressure, I thought the boys were fantastic the way they conducted themselves."
"To then go into a World Cup after that big of a year and still be able to peak, that just adds even more to what made that win so special," he added.
First up, Cummins discussed the BGT tour to India, which Australia lost 1-2. During that time, his mother was struggling with cancer and he had planned to spend some time with her by not going to the Indian Premier League (IPL).
But her condition worsened during the tour and Cummins went back home ahead of the third Test in Indore, in which Steve Smith led the side to an important win that let them secure a spot in the WTC final.
Cummins said that when he looks back to the tour, it feels like a "blur" since his "head was not in India." He also expressed that the team performed well in his absence.
"I must say I look back at that tour and it is all a bit of a blur," Cummins said.
"My head was not in India, my head was back home with Mum and the family. But the boys were fantastic."
"I could not have asked for any more support, and to be able to get home and have the last couple of weeks with Mum was special. I am so glad I did that, and to be honest, I did not really watch too much of the last two Test matches," he added.
Cummins also admitted that numerous members of the squad would look back at this series and aim to do even better when they tour India in 2027 once again.
"We had our chances for sure, in that Delhi game in particular. But it is hard, it is really hard. That will be a series we look back at as one that got away from us. Only because we have got really high standards, not because it is easy," said Cummins.
Reminiscing on the WTC final, Cummins said that watching David Warner's tone-setting, aggressive 43 in the first innings made him and selectors assured that the left-hander still had a lot to offer in the long format. Though Warner was struggling in Tests and had expressed his desire to retire at home in 2024, Cummins felt that Warner took the game on.
"We lost the toss and got sent in on a really tricky wicket. And I specifically remember Davey going out and playing the way that we all hoped he would, and that is taking the game on, being aggressive, being sharp," Cummins said.
"[I said to him] 'When you are doing that you have always got a spot in this team because you are going to score runs. But when you are not playing like that, I do not think you are putting the percentages in your favour'. I think for a lot of that trip there were some times where he did not score runs, but I thought he looked really sharp and was giving himself the best chance."
"We say that to all the guys; 'if you play this way ... double down on what makes you the best player'. For Davey, I think he is at his best when he is aggressive, taking the game on, playing his shots, being really sharp and energetic," concluded Cummins.
The pacer recalled the massive partnership between Travis Head and Steve Smith and fantastic bowling by Scott Boland. He realised that some rustiness was still there and better performances would be needed against England.
"I see that Test match as so different from the Ashes," he said. "For a few reasons, but the main reason was that the pitch was nothing like any of the Ashes tour pitches. As a bowler, you always felt like you were in the game in [the] 2019 [Ashes] and in that Test match as well, where even if the ball was 60 overs old, you felt like you could have a couple of slips in place, and you were going to get an edge."
"Whereas a lot of this Ashes series was a bit more like one-day cricket where you do not have too many catchers behind the wicket, and you spread the field because there is basically no swing or seam," he added.
Cummins said that the first Test at Edgbaston, where he hit 44* in a tense run-chase of 281 and had a 55-run partnership for the ninth wicket with Nathan Lyon, is the best Test he has been a part of.
"That series, in particular, had more build-up than any other series I had ever played in, and then to have the fairytale moment where Nathan and I are there on the last day hitting the winning runs, that was magic enough," Cummins said, accoding to the report.
"But then to have Dad there after what we had been through. He was there in the crowd with Mum in 2019, and you could not have written a better script. It is probably the best Test match I have been part of, and so many things came together. I will always remember that one," he added.
Cummins said that the thrilling 2023 Ashes series and its moments will add to the folklore attached with the oldest rivalry in the game. Australia retained the Ashes in that series. He also admitted to being "drained" by the time the series ended but was happy to see that Australians back home enjoyed some quality cricket from both the sides.
"I think it will add to the folklore. And I think we should be proud of retaining them away from home. It is not easy. We had earned that right by winning the series here a couple of years previously in Australia," Cummins said, accorging to Sydney Morning Herald.
"I find myself thinking of the moments that got away, but you could also look at how we grabbed it off them at Edgbaston. So it is a fair reflection of the series. Both teams will rue 100 of those little moments they could have done a bit differently."
"I was drained at the end for sure, six Test matches in seven weeks. There is no escape from the cauldron. But coming back to Australia, and even in England, the amount of people who came up on the streets; it was never anything negative. It was always, 'that was the best cricket we have ever watched, we have just had the best summer of cricket'. That was special," he said.
Cummins is unsure if he will be able to continue as captain or even player till the 2027 World Cup, but admitted that even the 2019 and 2023 editions looked a long way off at one point.
"It is funny what years you bookmark," he said.
"So 2011 was the year after I finished school and debuted. In 2015, the World Cup win. Then 2017 was the year I started playing all formats again. I remember 2019 was a huge year.
"Then I was thinking after that, 'OK, 2023 we have got the same huge year; a World Cup and an Ashes, plus an India tour'. So four years out really, and I think it sounds like 2027 is the next big one; away Ashes, World Cup and India again. That seems forever away now."
"In 2019, I remember thinking 'that is a long time away, geez I am not sure I will be part of that World Cup. Hopefully, I am still in the Aussie team then', but it comes around pretty quick, " Cummins said.
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