Birmingham: Pat Cummins revealed that when he went out to bat Day 5 of the opening Ashes Test at Edgbaston, Australia had a decent chance of winning.
Cummins came on the bat when Australia needed 72 runs to win with three wickets in hand. Shortly thereafter, he witnessed the dismissal of Alex Carey, who made an unsuccessful attempt to strike Joe Root straight down the field.
Despite this setback, the Australian captain displayed remarkable composure, remaining unbeaten on 44 runs from 73 deliveries, ultimately guiding his team to triumph.
“Pretty good, the wicket didn’t have too many demons in it. I thought it was well within our grasp. Both teams spoke about their styles and that’s the beauty of the series. We’ll both play to our strengths. Don’t know which is better but makes for good entertainment,” Cummins said in the post-match presentation ceremony.
Cummins heaped praise on Usman Khawaja, who was awarded the Player of the Match for his impressive innings of 141 and 65.
“Incredible composure, played by own methods didn’t get caught up. Been class the last couple of years, to have someone like that in the middle for others to play around. I am really happy for him. He had a good feel for the wicket, everyone else tried to play their little role,” Cummins said.
With a win Australia took an early 1-0 lead in the series with four Tests to play. The second Test will start at Lord’s June 28.
IANS
