Pat Cummins' 5 coldest press conference moments in Ashes 2023
Australian captain Pat Cummins has been impressive in the ongoing Ashes 2023 so far. There were question marks over his leadership skills when he was named as Tim Paine’s replacement ahead of the previous Ashes in 2021-22. However, he has almost seamlessly slipped into the lead role.
The pacer led from the front in the first Ashes 2023 Test at Edgbaston as Australia came from behind to clinch the thrilling match by two wickets. Although Cummins went wicketless in the first innings, he contributed a handy 38 with the willow amid a lower-order batting collapse.
Cummins then impressed with figures of 4/63 in the second innings as England were restricted to 273. He then contributed an invaluable 44* to lift Australia to a famous win from an unlikely position.
The 30-year-old also chipped in with wickets and runs as Australia registered a 43-run win at Lord’s to take a significant 2-0 lead in the five-match series. Apart from his on-field performances, Cummins has also grabbed the limelight for his brutally frank opinions at press conferences during Ashes 2023.
With the third Test of the series getting underway, we look back at the Australian captain’s five coldest press conference moments from the ongoing series.
#1 Cummins responds to reporter’s taunt with wit
The build-up to the third Ashes 2023 Test has been dominated by the Jonny Bairstow stumping controversy.
In one of the post-match press conferences after the Lord’s Test, a reporter taunted the Australian captain, asking him whether he would be open to effecting non-striker run-outs and bowling underarm.
Without losing his cool, Cummins gave it back and replied:
“Depends how flat the wickets get. Might be an option to turn to.”
An English reporter had a ridiculous cop out by asking if we’re going to see under-arm bowling from Australia in this series.
Pat Cummins: “Depends how flat the wickets get. Might be an option to turn to.” PLEASE😭😂😭 #Ashes https://t.co/GvoYAmWv0n
The Australian Test captain’s smart response elicited laughter from the media persons.
#2 “It was plain and simple a stumping” - Cummins on the Bairstow controversy
Even as a number of England players hit out at Australia for refusing to withdraw the stumping appeal against Bairstow, Cummins was staunch in his defense of the decision.
Slamming all theories over the spirit of cricket narrative, he hit back and said:
"For what I think is a pretty common, non-event it does seem like everyone has a pretty strong opinion about it. I'm a bit surprised about how big it's been but that's the Ashes, the littlest thing tends to be a moment where everyone likes to show their patriotism.
Cummins added:
"I don't think a conversation about the spirit of cricket even comes into a dismissal like that.It was plain and simple a stumping. Everyone that has played cricket and knows cricket, you just see it as that, end of story. I don't think there's any discussion, it's out."
Bairstow was stumped for 10 in the second innings at Lord’s as England faltered in a chase of 371.
#3 “Yeah” - Cummins’ one-word response on whether he would back Bairstow-like stumping again
The controversy over Bairstow’s stumping has raged on. Ahead of the third Test at Headingley, the Australian captain was asked if he would be open to backing a Bairstow-like dismissal again. His curt response in one word was - “yeah”.
The fast bowler yet again defended Australian wicketkeeper Alex Carey’s move to throw down the stumps as Bairstow walked out of his crease.
Expressing no regret, Cummins asserted:
“We’ve all moved on. As I said the other day, the team did nothing wrong. We’re all comfortable.”
He added:
“Doesn't really bother me [the controversy] to be honest. The way our team has conducted themselves over the last couple of years has been flawless.”
Interestingly, several former England captains, including Michael Vaughan, Mike Atherton, and Eoin Morgan have backed Australia in the controversy.
#4 “We have well and truly moved past that” - Aussie skipper on Headingley 2019
In the preview to the third Ashes 2023 Test at Headingley, there was plenty of talk about the iconic 2019 Test at the same venue.
Ben Stokes’ 135* lifted England to a famous win out of nowhere. While admitting that the chatter around the famous match was expected, Cummins asserted that past results don’t impact his team.
He commented:
“I've seen it about 1000 times in the last four years (on Stokes' winning shot off his bowling). I am sure that memory will be brought up quite a bit, just like 2005 was brought up at Edgbaston. But we have well and truly moved past that.”
Pat Cummins would do it again #Ashes #CricketTwitter https://t.co/0LcP4LpAUK
Chasing 359, England were nine down for 286. However, Stokes, with help from Jack Leach (1* off 17) pulled off an incredible one-wicket win for the hosts.
#5 "You can't always bat exactly like you would in a one-day game" - Cummins questions Bazball approach
Ahead of Ashes 2023, there was plenty of hype around England’s Bazball ploy. However, Cummins punched holes into the theory and then walked the talk to prove his point.
Questioning the hosts’ aggressive approach, the Australian skipper said ahead of the series:
"Our best stuff is still our strongest suit. They're a very good white-ball team England, but Test cricket's different. The ball moves a little bit differently. You can't always bat exactly like you would in a one-day game, and that's the strength of our bowling unit. If there's anything in the wicket, we're going to find it. We're going to be relentless in our areas."
Australia’s bowlers have dominated the England batting so far in Ashes 2023, vindicating Cummins’ stance on Bazball.