‘The full package’: Why Pat Cummins’ status as cricket legend is no longer up for debate

The plaudits for Pat Cummins were streaming in on Friday evening as rapidly as he had bowled earlier that day while the Australian captain wrested the Benaud-Qadir Trophy.

As shadows crept across the MCG on a glorious, if chilly, evening in Melbourne, teammate Josh Hazlewood was shaking his head at the deeds of his skipper in a radio interview nearby.

Soon after, the MCG was teaming with young kids attempting to mimic the Australian hero by bowling with as much heart as they could muster to their parents and friends.

Upstairs in the broadcast booths, the greats of yesteryear were singing the praises of the Australian captain after he delivered an MCG masterclass with consecutive five-wicket hauls.

From Adam Gilchrist to Michael Vaughan, from Ricky Ponting to Wasim Akram and Glenn McGrath, there was no disputing Cummins’ standing. He is an exceptional fast bowler.

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The 30-year-old has endured a 12-month period like few others, from incredible highs to searing criticism and a personal tragedy, yet handled almost every challenge with distinction.

Cummins has had superior seasons based on pure statistics, but his ability to deliver at critical times in matches has never been better.

His deeds on Friday against Pakistan are a case in point. With his counterpart Shan Masood setting a strong tempo, Cummins returned to the attack and secured his wicket.

Later, Mohammad Rizwan threatened to conjure what had seemed Mission Improbable as Pakistan closed to within double figures in pursuit of a target of 317. Enter Pat Cummins.

Hazlewood produced a remarkable spell of bowling to deliver 24 consecutive dot balls on Friday, and his delivery to dismiss Pakistan’s talisman Babar Azam was magnificent.

But he was left in awe once again by the deeds of his skipper.

“Patty is just head and shoulders above (the rest). He is the full package. He does it every day, every spell,” he told ABC Grandstand.

CUMMINS, THE CAPTAIN

On the eve of the Boxing Day Test, Australian legend Gilchrist pondered the leadership and performance of Cummins as he sought to close out 2023 with another triumph.

“We forget, because Pat is so good at so many things, the burden and the workload that has been placed on those shoulders,” Gilchrist told Fox Cricket’s podcast The Follow On.

“There were some doubts at some stage, (with some asking) ‘Is he the right man for the job?’

“I think Australian cricket now feels like they are off to the races. He is a winner.”

Cummins was thrown into the Test captaincy earlier than planned, handed the role in the aftermath of Tim Paine’s sexting scandal in late 2021. It was considered a contentious call given conventional cricket wisdom suggests bowlers have too much to worry about individually.

Apart from a handful of Marsh Cup matches for New South Wales, his captaincy CV was pretty barren. In Amazon docuseries The Test, cameras captured Cummins preparing for his first day as Test captain in his hotel room, practising the ‘T’ symbol for reviews and deciphering how to set fields for Nathan Lyon.

The footage was endearing, but it also showed that Cummins was learning on the job.

Over the following 18 months, Cummins slowly familiarised himself with the craft of Test captaincy. He received support from vice-captain Steve Smith, who often approaches Cummins in the field with suggestions of where to bowl and alternative field settings.

Although Cummins dons the green jacket, there’s a broader leadership group within the team that the skipper can call upon when required.

The 30-year-old trusts his players to prepare themselves for the challenges of Test cricket however they deem appropriate, whether that be through four-hour net sessions or an afternoon on the golf course. Earlier the year, Usman Khawaja joked that he probably would have retired if Australia’s coaching staff hadn’t scrapped mandatory warm-ups.

Under this relaxed environment, the team flourished. Australia ends 2023 with the World Test Championship mace, the Ashes urn, the World Cup and the Benaud-Qadir Trophy in its possession.

“I think tactically, a lot of captains are maligned in hindsight, whether it’s right or wrong, what they’ve done,” Australian coach Andrew McDonald told reporters in Melbourne on Saturday.

“But I think that the most important thing is the planning and discussions you have leading into the decision making and he is really open with that.

“A lot of good ideas flow either way from him and his leadership core of players and from coaches and he is very level to work with.

“Across a Test match, you wouldn’t know what the score is based upon his body language. I think that’s the art of captaincy, to be consistent and connected with your playing group and your staff and have the ability to make the good decisions at the right time.

“And at the moment, the last 12 months, you’d say he’s put a lot of the right levers.”

The undeniable blemishes in Cummins’ captaincy resume are the Border-Gavaskar Trophy campaign in India and the Old Trafford Ashes Test.

By his own admission, Cummins’ thoughts were scrambled during the India campaign, with his mother Maria back home battling breast cancer in palliative care. After India comprehensively won the first two Tests and retained the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, Cummins returned home to be with his family.

Then in Manchester, Cummins seemingly had no answers when confronted with ‘Bazball’ at its destructive best. He was, for lack of a better word, rattled by England’s aggression at Old Trafford, clueless on how to steam the flow of runs. Meanwhile, the loss of Nathan Lyon created an insurmountable headache.

Cummins also became a central figure in a global cricket controversy when Alex Carey stumped Jonny Bairstow at Lord’s, choosing not to call back the England wicketkeeper after he waltzed out of his crease. While defending his actions in the post-match press conference, Cummins nursed a black eye that derived from a fielding mishap, but the symbolic irony was difficult to ignore.

Then there’s the uninformed critics that took aim at Cummins’ environmental messaging, blaming him for Justin Langer’s unceremonious exit as national coach. Those same sceptics have since fallen silent.

CUMMINS, THE LEADER

Australia’s brutal 10-Test winter campaign, which included four wins and four defeats, could have been branded as a pass mark, but it was an incredibly valuable learning experience for Cummins. He emerged from the Ashes series bruised and fatigued, but also a more knowledgeable and battle-hardened leader.

Cummins has hardly put a foot wrong since. His decision to bowl first during the World Cup final against India will go down as one of the greatest gambles in cricket history, while his dismissal of Rizwan in the first innings of the Boxing Day Test proved his tactical prowess has come leaps and bounds.

“I think anytime you start your captaincy regime, you’re never going to be at your best. You are going to learn and grow across the journey,” McDonald continued.

“But in terms of as a player, I think he’s probably held where he’s been at for two three years. His body’s been sound. He has had the opportunity to play a lot of cricket and his performance execution as a player over the last two years has been outstanding. But as a leader, he has definitely grown and I think you will see him grow again.”

Perhaps most importantly, Cummins’ teammates have nothing but respect and admiration for their captain.

There was a telling moment during a press conference in Perth last week, when a reporter asked Lyon when he planned to retire from Tests. The veteran spinner turned to Cummins and asked how long he intended to captain the Test side.

Gilchrist said there is no doubt that the Australian team believes in their leader. And he believes Cummins is leading the current team towards greatness.

“They are going to go down as one of the great eras, I really believe, this core group of players,” he said.

“I think it is a great era. I think we probably have not acknowledged them as a great team yet. But I think that will come. Statistically they hold their own against most generations.

“I am never big on trying to say whether one generation or era is better or more competitive or more special. Stats wise their numbers are excellent, save for India and maybe Sri Lanka, but they are not the first Australian cricket team to, over a period of time, struggle in the subcontinent. Very few have gone over there and experienced Test match success.

“But I just feel they are remarkable and I often feel that perhaps we are not acknowledging it enough that we are watching greatness before our very eyes and before we know it, a number of them will be gone, not the least David Warner in one more Test match, so let’s enjoy it while we have the chance.”

Former Australian leg-spinner Kerry O’Keeffe said it was indisputable the national selectors made the right call when inserting Cummins into the captaincy in Test and ODI cricket.

“They picked the right man,” he said on Fox Cricket.

“He is a much better leader now than he was in June or July. His leadership at the World Cup was as good as I’ve ever seen.

“The only time I have seen Pat Cummins flummoxed was during Bazball with his field placements. (There were) some tactics that were debatable.

“But I think he has learned from that. I don’t think the aggression that England showed will faze him ever again.

“I think he is getting tactics more and more right, and more people are following him wholeheartedly within the side.”

CUMMINS, THE LEGEND

During the Boxing Day Test, Cummins leapfrogged the legendary Richie Benaud to become Australia’s tenth leading wicket-taker in Tests, also passing the 250-wicket milestone. Only one Australian has more Test wickets at a lower average than the New South Welshman – Glenn McGrath.

Cummins’ Test strike rate of 46.7 ranks fourth on the all-time list, while the only active player with a lower bowling average is South Africa’s Kagiso Rabada.

“He missed a lot cricket when he was younger as well,” McDonald said.

“(He is) almost making up for a little bit of last time. But we saw yesterday, and even in the context of the whole game, his ability to extract movement late in the game, the ability to execute good bouncers, it is just a joy to watch, really.”

Former England captain Michael Vaughan, when asked whether he would have liked to have faced Cummins in his prime, responded: “Only with the old ball. That is about it.”

“I would not want to face him with the new ball. I think he looks an awful bowler to face,” he told foxsports.com.au.

“He’s got skill. He’s got the ability to swing it. He has got the ability to seam. He’s got pace. He has got the intimidation factor. He’s got accuracy. He’s got the cricket brain to match.

“Obviously he knows which ball to bowl at the right times. He’d be a nightmare to face, to be honest.”

Vaughan faced McGrath, who was spotted walking around the MCG late on Friday evening with a smile on his face, at his pomp and said Cummins sits comfortably with him.

“His numbers are up there with the best. His strike rate at 47 is better than any other. His average is only just behind Glenn McGrath,” Vaughan said.

“It’s obvious that he is a legend now. He is a great of the game now. But in five to seven years’ time, whenever he decides his body’s not going to be active enough, he’ll go down as one of the greatest of the game, without any question.”

If Cummins can maintain this form and Australia’s success continues through to the final stages of his Test career, he’ll be talked of in the same breath as McGrath and Dennis Lillee for his bowling alongside Steve Waugh and Ricky Ponting for his leadership.