Perth: Australia captain Pat Cummins lauded his Indian counterpart Jasprit Bumrah by calling him one of the best bowlers in the world after he picked figures of 5-30 and 3-42 in the side’s 295-run win in the first Test at Perth Stadium on Monday.
“I thought he bowled really well. He’s one of the best in the world. He’s always going to be a challenge, so we got to come up with ways to combat that. I thought particularly that Day 1, his spell, the spell from the Indian guys, made it tricky for our team to navigate through. He bowled well through the game, like he does most games,” said Cummins in the post-match press conference.
He also backed top-order batter Marnus Labuschagne to bounce back strongly in the series, with the second game, a pink-ball match, to begin at Adelaide on December 6. Labuschagne made just two and three runs, respectively in Perth, adding more to his inconsistent performances in Tests, where he averages just 31.75 in 19 matches since 2023, a sharp decline from his overall average of 48.45.
“Marnus along with quite a few guys in the team didn’t have the week we would have wanted. It’s no secret how hard the batters, particularly Marn works in the nets. He’s always trying to find those small marginal gains. This week will be a lot of conversation with the coaches around his approach and what he could be doing differently. ”
“We know he’s a class player, him at his best is one of the scariest propositions for opposition bowlers to bowl at. We’ll get to Adelaide a little bit earlier and maybe do an extra day or two prep leading into that second Test.”
“He’s done it before over there, he’s got a very good pink-ball record, so I always think looking back at past successes when you were at your best is always a pretty good way to get yourself back on track,” he added.
Cummins also revealed all-rounder and local lad Mitchell Marsh has pulled up sore after bowling just 17 overs in Perth. “He’s battling a couple of little niggles since the UK tour. The main thing is he’s in there as one of the top six batters in the country and bowling is a bonus.”
“He was a little bit sore towards the end of this Test match. Again, in the next 10 days, a chance to freshen up and try and get it right. We’ll see how he goes. Ideally, he would be able to bowl in each Test match.”
Amidst speculation of divide in the team post Josh Hazlewood’s comments on day three, Cummins quashed all of it. “No not at all. There’s plenty of times where the batters have dragged us bowlers out of tight situations and we’ve done the same.”
“So it’s a really tight unit, probably one of the tightest teams I’ve ever played with. We really enjoy playing cricket together, we’ve been through a lot over the last few years the core group, so no problems there, everyone gets along really well.”
Cummins further remarked there won’t be wholesale changes in the Australian Test squad. “I think after a Test you look at what you think your best match-up is. This is a sample size of one. Four or five days ago we thought this was our best XI. So I dare say … there won’t be many changes going into Adelaide, but I’m not a selector. I’m sure they’ll get together after the game. We (have) got a bit of work to do over the next 10 days.”
He signed off by saying Australia will bounce back after thorough introspection from performances in Perth. ” Not an ideal way to start the summer. You sit in the changeroom after a loss like that, and it hurts. When a team declares on you, it’s never an amazing feeling. We’ve all been in these situations before. It’s the nature of professional sport, you’re going to lose some games.”
“The biggest challenge and the most important thing is how do you bounce back, what’s your next move. That’s what we need to do this week. We were clearly well off the mark, there’s a lot to work on, so the most important thing is there’s four Test matches to come. How do we make sure we aren’t in this position again?”
(IANS)
