"Got that 100 percent wrong" - Pat Cummins calls out commentators for taking Josh Hazlewood's comment out of context during BGT 2024-25 1st Test
Australian captain Pat Cummins joined the players in calling out the commentators for taking Josh Hazlewood's statement during the opening Test against Team India in Perth. The skipper asserted that the vibe is still good within the team as they don't read too much into the external noise.
Fox Cricket panelists raised eyebrows following Hazlewood's comment of pinning the responsibility on the batters with Australia set to chase a 534-run target after Day 3 of the Perth Test. The likes of Michael Vaughan, Adam Gilchrist, and Ravi Shastri speculated a dressing room divide, especially with the batters underperforming.
At a presser on Thursday, December 5, ahead of the second Test, Cummins talked about the whole incident via The Sydney Morning Herald:
"The team’s great. Some of the commentators got that 100 per cent wrong. We’ve prepared like we always do and get around each other. It’s a great feeling around the team. We don’t make too much of it. When things don’t go right, there’s enough commentators that will support you but also some that will, of course, create some headlines. We try not to take too much notice of it. We just go about our things."
The hosts had a long Day 3 in Perth as Team India ground them down, amassing 487/6. Hazlewood put in the hard yards, snaffling impressive figures of 21-9-28-1.
"He’s really confident for the Gabba" - Pat Cummins on Josh Hazlewood
With Hazlewood set to miss the Adelaide Test, Cummins said it was the right call to keep him out of this fixture and allow him to recover to participate in the remaining part of the series.
"He’s really confident for the Gabba. He had a good bowl yesterday [Wednesday] only like three quarters [pace]. It went beautifully. It’s probably the right call in hindsight. I think in previous years, we just kept bowling [him]. It’s probably turned that one-week injury into a three, four or five-week injury, whereas this year it seems a little bit different," the skipper added in the presser.
Australia have made one change to their playing XI for the pink-ball Test, bringing in Scott Boland for Hazlewood.