Can Pat Cummins Add Another ICC Title to His Glorious Resume?
Pat Cummins has been one of the top captains in the current era, having already won two ICC trophies under his captaincy. Now, the Cummins-led Australian side will have a chance to win another ICC title in the WTC final against South Africa.
Over the last few years, the captains have dominated a lot in the cricket field, whether it is Rohit Sharma for India, but for the Australian captain Pat Cummins, it has been more like a walk-the-talk scene. His captaincy aura became famous ahead of the 2023 World Cup final, when he said, “There’s nothing more satisfying than hearing a big crowd go silent, and that’s the aim for us tomorrow,” and went on to defeat India in the finals.
It all started in 2021, when Tim Paine stepped down as the captain of the Australian team, accepting that he had sent explicit messages to a co-worker. Following this, several discussions took place in the Cricket Australia board, after which Pat Cummins was appointed as the new captain across all formats.
When Cummins was announced as the new captain, he also received criticism from various fans and cricket analysts. The reason behind the same was a bowler being a captain for the Australian team, which was led by batsmen for a long time. But these criticisms also proved as a redemption arc for one of the greatest captains in modern cricket.
| Series/Tournament | Result |
|---|---|
| Ashes 2021–22 (Home) | Australia won 4-0 |
| Australia vs Pakistan 2022 (Away) | Australia won 1-0 |
| WTC Final 2023 vs India | Australia won by 209 runs (Champions) |
| Ashes 2023 (Away) | Drawn 2-2 (Australia retained the Ashes) |
| ICC World Cup 2023 (India) | Australia won the title (6th WC crown) |
| Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024–25 (Home) | Australia won 3-1 |
Pat Cummins went on to win consecutive series, breaking records across every format for the Australian team. He also helped the team to win two ICC titles: the WTC Final 2023 and the World Cup Final 2023. Now, he also has the opportunity to add another ICC title to his CV, as Australia goes against South Africa in the WTC 2025 final. Let’s take a look at some notable achievements by Pat Cummins under his captaincy.
Ashes 2021-22
The era of Pat Cummins as a captain started with the Ashes 2021-22, when England visited Australia for the five-match Test series. Playing at the home ground, the Australian team surely had the edge of the conditions, which were perfectly utilised by the captain. He started off well for the team in the first match, with figures 5/38 in the first innings and 2/51 in the second innings. As a result, Australia started off the series with a dominant win by 9 wickets.
After winning the day-night match by 146 runs, Australia secured a 4-0 win in the Ashes, marking it as the beginning of the legendary captain Pat Cummins. Despite being a bowler as a captain, he still dominated the series against the English batsmen, taking 21 wickets in 8 innings at an average of 18.04, and an economy of 2.99 runs per over. Also, Cummins finished the series as the leading wicket-taker, showcasing his ability to lead from the front.
Australia Tour of Pakistan 2022
Playing Test matches in Pakistan surely comes out to be favourable for the batters, due to the flat pitches at almost every stadium. The next challenge for Pat Cummins came out to be the series against Pakistan, where they were heading to play a three-match Test series. The major question for the new captain was how he would be able to tackle the batter-friendly conditions in Pakistan and lead his team to a series win.
The first two Test matches didn’t go as expected for both teams, as they resulted in a draw. But the final test surely came out as an opportunity for Cummins to lead his team to the win. He started off the first innings well and took a 5-wicket haul, and later finished the second innings with figures of 3/23. This helped Australia to win the series by 1-0, and it was also their first win over Pakistan in a Test series, ending their 11-year drought in an Asia Test series win.
WTC Final 2023
After his magnificent captaincy show in the Test format, Pat Cummins was ready for the ultimate final clash against India, in the World Test Championship Final, which took place in the Oval. Having the home ground advantage and various in-form players, the team surely took the upper hand, which helped them to win the match against India by 209 runs. Cummins took 3 wickets for 83 runs in the first innings, and later took a wicket in the second innings.
His strategic planning throughout the game helped Australia to win the much-needed game against India, as Australia became the winners of the World Test Championship 2021-23 cycle. He also performed well in the entire WTC cycle, taking 57 wickets in 16 matches at an average of 22.15, and an economy rate of just 2.79, with one 4-wicket haul and three 5-wicket hauls.
Ashes 2023
Following the massive victory in the World Test Championship final, Australia went to England for the Ashes 2023. This was not just a must-win series for the team, it was also the beginning of the new WTC cycle, which made it more important for Captain Cummins to continue his domination. The Australian team had a dominant start to the series, winning the first two Test matches by a close margin.
Although the last few matches didn’t go well, the series still ended with a 2-2 draw, as Australia retained the Ashes once again. Captain Cummins played all five matches for the team and took 18 wickets at an average of 37.72 and an economy rate of 4.27 runs per over. Coming out as the second leading wicket taker for Australia, the captain once again proved why his dominance remains in the Test format.
ICC World Cup 2023
Pat Cummins, as a captain, became famous in the limited-overs format with his captaincy in the 2023 ODI World Cup, which was hosted in India. This was also the time when he started to be known as the crowd silencer. After leading Australia to the 3rd spot in the league stages, he went on to defeat South Africa in the semi-final clash, to face India once again in the finals.
In the final match, Australia won by 6 wickets, and this was the first major ICC trophy won by Pat Cummins under his captaincy, with Australia getting its 6th World Cup title. His spell in the final match remains unmatched, as he took 2 wickets and conceded no boundaries in his 10-over spell. Moreover, he also took the important wicket of Virat Kohli, which is still known to be the game-changing wicket.
Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25
The next hurdle for Cummins as a captain was the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, which Australia hadn’t won since 2014-15. The first Test match also was not in their favour, as the Australian team lost the match by a big margin of 295 runs. This loss would have affected the team’s confidence, but the captain took this as an opportunity to stage the greatest comeback in BGT history.
Australia went on to win three of the next four matches against India, securing dominant wins in each one of them. This further helped the Australian team to end its BGT drought, winning the series by 3-1, after a gap of 11 years. Furthermore, they also secured a spot in the finals of the World Test Championship 2025. Pat Cummins finished as the leading wicket-taker for the team with 25 wickets in 5 matches at an average of 21.36, and an economy of 3.19.
With the World Test Championship final coming up against South Africa from 11 June, Pat Cummins now has an opportunity to add another ICC title to his captaincy CV.
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