Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium, Lucknow, India – October 12, 2023 Australia’s Pat Cummins during the league stage game against South Africa. (Reuters)
Pat Cummins finally smiled. But it seemed a tired smile without a soul, rather than the warm and spontaneous smile. It was like he suddenly remembered to smile—in the middle of an answer, without any reason.
Perhaps he was too tired to even smile. The dying months of a long year could be wracking his mind and body. This year has been eventful—his mother died in March, forcing him to leave his men midway through the India tour; he spent two exacting months in England, for the WTC final and Ashes, and as though the fixture was not unkind enough, he had to contend leading his troops to a World Cup in India. He did not play an incredible amount of cricket either—9 Tests, four ODIs, 0 T20Is, 0 IPL games—but the sheer burden of being your team’s strike bowler and the cross-format captain is no simple responsibility. That he has not combusted is a measure of his commitment towards the game and the steely stuff he is made of. [Read more]
Dunith Wellalage test awaits as Australia face Sri Lanka in Lucknow in a battle of win-less teams
