Australian captain Pat Cummins was beaming with pride after he achieved a significant landmark in the World Test Championship Final as he went past 300 wickets in Tests. The Aussie bowler took his 14th five-wicket haul as he took 6 wickets by just giving away 28 runs. His contribution was very important in helping Australia take 78-runs lead against South Africa in quest to defend their WTC Final.
“It’s way more than I could have asked for.”
“Three hundred is a really big number and I have battled a few injuries and niggles and got through and played well in different conditions, so I am pretty happy.”
“When the ball got a little bit softer there wasn’t too much in it, but it feels like the odd ball is nipping a little bit.”
“It feels like if you bowl well it is tough to score runs, so there is a bit in it for both (batters and bowlers).”
In what was his 68th Test appearance in the whites, the 32-year-old also entered an exclusive club by taking 300 Test wickets, only the eighth Australian bowler to do so. He now joins greats such as Shane Warne, Glenn McGrath, Nathan Lyon, and Mitchell Starc. Cummins’ masterful spell put his name in the record books. He is now the record holder for most wickets in ICC final matches, bettering teammate Mitchell Starc’s 11. The Aussie pacer also surpassed India’s Mohammed Shami (8) for most wickets in WTC final history.
Cummins also took the best-ever captain’s bowling figures at historic Lord’s Cricket Ground. His performance broke the long-standing record of 6/101 of Bob Willis, who recorded it in 1992 against India.