Pat Cummins compares winning mentality of Test side to World Cup triumph
Australian skipper Pat Cummins stated that Australia have found ways to win even without playing their best cricket.
Pat Cummins has hailed the Australian Test team for scraping through to win the ICC World Test Championship series against New Zealand and surge to second position in the standings.
Despite the top-order not quite firing, Australia managed to win, with the resilience of the lower middle-order and lower-order coming to the fore in the Christchurch Test, where the team recovered from a precarious 34/4 to chase down 279.
"At times we haven't played our best cricket, but still found a way to win," Cummins said in the post-match press conference.
"No doubt a few of them will look back and wish they had scored a few more runs over the last couple of games, but basically everyone in the line-up has won a match this summer."
Australia put up an impressive fight on Day 4 of the final Test, sweeping the #NZvAUS series 2-0 💪#WTC25 | 📝 https://t.co/SPhpcYzHDB pic.twitter.com/ufQzpAi0j2
— ICC (@ICC) March 11, 2024
The come-from-behind mentality shown during the home summer was reminiscent of the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup in 2023 according to the Australian captain, where the team recovered from two losses at the beginning to lift the trophy.
"In a couple of previous summers, we'd blown teams out of the water, and this summer it wasn't the case but still at the key moments someone's stood up," he said.
"It's similar to the ODI World Cup, you keep finding a way to win even if at times it's not fully functioning, the whole unit."
Australia chased down the India total by the 43rd over mark.
In between the challenges faced by the Australian team throughout the summer, there has consistently been someone stepping up. This Monday, it was Alex Carey's turn to shine.
Carey, who averaged 23.76 in Test matches (before the Christchurch Test) since the beginning of 2023, stepped up with the team in trouble at 80/5.
The southpaw saw the run-chase through, remaining unbeaten on 98 alongside the skipper, who made 32, as Australia continued their long-standing winning streak against their Trans-Tasmanian neighbours.
"I enjoy that challenge, I feel like this group's been able to get out of situations," Carey said, adding to what Cummins had to say about the team's mentality.
"I guess each guy's had a game where they've been able to do that, and so in the last seven games we've won six although at times a little bit under pressure. We've stayed resilient throughout that."
Shardul Thakur had to face the brunt of Pat Cummins' fiery fast bowling.
One factor that helped them chase down the target, according to Carey, was mounting the pressure on the opposition with the scoring rate.
The 140-run stand between Mitchell Marsh and Carey was key behind Australia's resurgence in the second Test match. The duo scored at a rate of 4.82 to push the Kiwis onto the backfoot.
Also read: Cummins, the batter, comes up clutch yet again for Australia
"We've been on the flip side of that a few times, and as a captain I know it's annoying when the other team is just ticking over the scoring rate," Cummins said.
"It's something we spoke about today, just keeping that scoreboard running."
The skipper also hinted that the team is unlikely to undergo any major changes ahead of the next Test series against India later in the year.
"One of our biggest strengths is the experience we have, at least half the team have played 50 Test matches," he said.
"I think you always look at your best eleven players and who you think is going to win the Test match, but we're in no rush to make rash changes."