"It is ice in the veins" - Justin Langer hails Pat Cummins' composure after Australia's stunning win in first Ashes Test
Former Australia head coach Justin Langer believes Pat Cummins' method has proved to be the antidote of England's 'Bazball' approach. The West Australian stated that the 29-year-old's composure stood out, especially after a challenging day one of the first Ashes Test to win it eventually against all odds.
The Australian captain found himself at the crease when they lost a defiant Usman Khawaja for 65 off 197 balls. Things became further complicated when Alex Carey departed for 20, leaving the tourists to get 55. However, the visiting captain and Nathan Lyon held their nerve to get Australia over the line.
In his column for The Telegraph, Langer felt Australia showed why they are the number one side in the world, evidenced by the captain's composure. He said:
"Questions have been raised before, and indeed during this Test match, on what the antidote to Bazball might be. The Australian captain just showed the world; it is ice in the veins. Australia reminded us here that they are the No 1 Test team in the world for a reason. They trust their method."
The 52-year-old added:
"As they should. It works and they win consistently. For Cummins to keep his composure after a difficult first day, first ball even, showed the class of the man, especially in making his highest score for five years."
Australia started day five needing 174 more for victory as Khawaja shared two handy partnerships with Cameron Green and Alex Carey before Cummins finished things off.
"What a wonderful Test match this was" - Pat Cummins
At a post-match press conference, Cummins said that Australia had unfinished business since losing the 2019 Ashes, and was glad to end up on the winning side at Edgbaston.
"There's been a lot of talk about 2005 this week but I think we were all about 10 years old when that happened. 2019 is probably the one we look at the most - that two-all at the end of the series felt like unfinished business. What a wonderful Test match this was, really hard-fought, one of those ones that when you're on the other side it really hurts. It feels like one that got away, so it's a pretty happy dressing room in there at the moment to be one-up in the series."
The second Ashes Test starts at Lord's on June 28th.