Pat Cummins: There’s nothing more satisfying than hearing a big crowd go silent and that’s the aim
In the competition, Australia has faced more crises than India and has even experienced rock bottom after two games; they have already won eight straight games, whereas India has won 10, when questioned about the situation in Ahmedabad amidst the controversy surrounding the Wankhede ground, Cummins seems uninterested.
On the eve of a match that might very well define his career as an Australian captain, Pat Cummins seemed relaxed and calm despite being just one victory away from a second World title in 2023. However, the expression seemed confident rather than forced.
In the competition, Australia has faced more crises than India and has even experienced rock bottom after two games. They have recently already won eight straight games, whereas India has won 10. When questioned about the situation in Ahmedabad amidst the controversy surrounding the Wankhede ground, Cummins seems uninterested.
“I’m not a great pitch reader, but it looked pretty firm. They’ve only just watered it, so yeah, give it another 24 hours and have a look, but it looks like a pretty good wicket. I think it’s been a bit more high scoring here (than Kolkata) throughout the tournament, so yeah, hard to say.”
Although Cummins acknowledged that playing in front of more than 100,000 Indian supporters would probably be a once-in-a-lifetime event, he downplayed the talk of India exacting revenge for their defeat in the 2003 World Cup final, claiming that none of the players from that squad remain.
“Yeah, I mean, neither player from both sides was there in 2003, so it feels like a long time ago, but we know it’s going to be a packed house. There’s going to be 130,000 fans here supporting India. So, it’s going to be awesome.”
The captain of Australia acknowledged that India had a strong team, but added that Australia had played India frequently in India over the last several years, and it is unlikely to take them by surprise.
“They’ve been playing well, undefeated this tournament. But we know at our best we can give them a good shake. We’ve played them quite a lot over the last couple years with success so it’s all building up for a nice final.”
In addition, Cummins praised Josh Hazlewood and Mitchell Starc, the opening bowlers who haven’t played their best in the World Cup’s power play but impressed with a sharp spell on Thursday (November 16) in the semi-final match against South Africa.
“The way he (Starc) bowled a couple of nights ago in Kolkata was fantastic – bowled seven straight a couple of key wickets and could have easily had a couple of more,”
said Cummins, in appreciation of his opening bowlers.
“The opening partnership between him and Josh Hazlewood’s going to be a big one for us. Yeah, we saw what impact they can have in a game when they bowl like they did the other night. So, they’re both big game players, played in a few ICC finals now, so they know what it takes.”
While acknowledging that Australia’s batting display wasn’t at its best during their World Cup league match against India, Cummins also reminded the media that they were just one catch away from taking the lead.
“I don’t think we scored par in that first game but we’re one catch away from potentially being in front of that game. We won an ODI series here early on in the year. There’s lots of moments we can draw on where we’ve had success against a really good Indian side.”
The Australian captain acknowledged that, to end the day guilt-free, regardless of the result, they had to enjoy upsetting the audience and appreciate the opportunity to silence them whenever possible.
“I think you’ve got to embrace it. The crowd’s going to be very one-sided but it’s also in sport there’s nothing more satisfying than hearing a big crowd go silent and that’s the aim for us tomorrow. Yeah, you’ve just got to embrace every part of it, every part of a final even you know in the lead-up there’s going to be noise and more people and interest and you just can’t get overwhelmed. You got to be up for it, you got to love it, and just know whatever happens it’s fine but you just want to finish the day with no regrets.”
After Australia had lost two straight games and had struggled briefly against Sri Lanka, Cummins was asked if he ever thought it would be all over. He answered honestly, acknowledging that doubts did indeed cross his mind at times, but the team overcame those setbacks to create an excellent performance.
“The proposition at that stage was we had to be flawless to make it through to the semis. And fortunately, we were. But yeah, absolutely, we knew we came up against two very good sides (India and South Africa) to start with, but we were off the pace so we knew that we had to change pretty drastically, and yeah, glad we did.”
One of the pleasing things, I believe, is that I still don’t feel like we’ve played the complete game. We haven’t done so outside of that, though perhaps against the Netherlands. Big victories haven’t happened.
Every victory has been earned via battle, but we have managed to prevail. And at various points, other players have raised their hands. With that confidence, I believe we can overcome any team because we don’t need to play at our very best to challenge them. Yes, I think that will give us a lot of confidence going into tomorrow. I know it will give the boys a lot of confidence.
Cummins said that the think-tank had thought about Marcus Stoinis, the additional all-rounder, as a potential choice ahead of Marnus Labuschagne in the event of a track that was favorable for batting.
“Potentially yeah, those are things we weigh up before every game. We’re lucky, we’ve got a 15-man squad who we feel anyone can step in and perform. They’re all ready to go. So, like every other game, we go through a process where coaches get together and chat through what they think or how they think the game’s going to go about, and then the selectors pick the final eleven.”
Not lost on Cummins was the significance of the year, having won The Ashes as well as the World Test Championship final against the same opponents earlier in the year.
“I mean, it’s been a huge year. There are four marquee events. If you have one of those in an off season, it’s a big off-season. We’ve got four of them. So being proud of all those things you mentioned, not only the wins but the guys have spent, for some of the guys, probably spent less than a couple of weeks in their bed since the end of the Aussie summer. One thing that’s stayed consistent has been the morale in the group. The guys have been awesome. They’re so up for every game they play. And to put ourselves in a position of this, it would just top off an incredible year and probably a career-defining year that a lot of us will look back on in years to come and be pretty proud of,” he said.
Cummins acknowledged that, in addition to the dew, the temperature differential of approximately 7-8 degrees Celsius between Kolkata and Ahmedabad will be a factor, but only during the final phase of the match.
“I think the biggest difference is the dew. This city and venue seems to have more dew than a lot of the other places we play. So perhaps, yeah, that’s something to think about ahead of tomorrow. Again, it might only be the last quarter of the game but once that settles in and the ball is sliding on, it’s quite different to say the first 20 overs where it might be swinging. So, something to consider. You’ve got to weigh up batting during the day when it might be a bit easier than under lights, but knowing that late in the second innings it could also slide on.”
When questioned about Australia’s World Cup history and the possibility of becoming one of the all-time great captains of Australia, Cummins said that it would be a huge honor to lead the Australian team in a World Cup.
“It would be huge. We were all kids not too long ago, watching some of those great teams win the ’99, 2003, and 2007 World Cups,”
said Cummins.
“That’s the opportunity ahead of us tomorrow, which is exciting. To be captain would be an absolute privilege to lift the trophy with this great bunch of blokes. In terms of the pinnacle, I think it is right up there, it’s got the longest history of a world event where all the teams compete.
“You only get a shot at it every four years. So even if you have a long career, you might only play in two of these events. 2015 is still a career highlight for me, so I think tomorrow if we win, we might pip it.”
Even though there are several players from a 2015 World Cup-winning team in the squad, Cummins dispelled any notions that Australia would be the clear favorites in the championship game, emphasizing that it was a close match against a fantastic Indian team.
“I think it’s going to be an even match. I think you can make a case for either side. The good thing is I think we’ve got six or seven guys that won it in 2015 so we know that feeling. Even more of the guys that were there in the T20 World Cup, a different format, but pretty much everyone, at least a dozen of the 15, have won a World Cup and know what it takes and know that feeling and won’t be afraid to go out there and be brave and take the game on.”