Australian Skipper Silences Critics Who Criticized His Tactics In First Ashes Test

Summary:

• Pat Cummins was termed one-dimensional for his captaincy in the first Ashes test
• Cummins put on a brilliant display with ball and bat in the second innings
• Australia won a nail biter to take the first Ashes test and lead 1-0

England did not change the way they have played test cricket for the last 12 months during the first test of the 5 match Ashes series. England batted first in Birmingham and ended up piling on the runs in the first day at a rapid pace. They surprised everyone by declaring just before the end of play for 393/8.

Throughout the test England captain Ben Stokes took risks and was very pro-active with his field settings, bowling changes and decisions. This has been a trademark of Stokes’s captaincy under the guidance of head coach Brendon McCullum.

Pat Cummins Criticized For Being One Dimensional

Australian captain Pat Cummins has a very different style of captaincy and it caused a lot of buzz on social media as many felt Cummins was being too defensive. Ex- Sri Lankan captain Kumar Sangakkara who was one of the commentators also called out Cummins for being too one-dimensional in his captaincy.

Sangakkara said that Cummins was being reactive with his decisions and field settings rather than being proactive. He felt Cummins was waiting for England to make mistakes instead of putting them under pressure and forcing them to make one.

Cummins did not change his captaincy or tactics during the 5 day test match but answered his critics in style with the way he performed in the second innings with ball and bat.

Cummins Helps Australia To Win First Ashes Test

Cummins did not take a wicket in the first innings but came back strong in the second innings as he teamed up with spinner Nathan Lyon to send down 42.2 of the 62.2 overs in the second innings. He helped put the brakes on England in the second innings and took 4 wickets.

He also played a crucial knock scoring 44 runs out of 73 balls to help Australia win the first test by 2 wickets. Usman Khawaja ended up winning the man of the match for his 141 and 65 in the test but Cummin’s performance helped take Australia over the line and silence his critics in style.

Can Australia take the momentum into the second test next week or Will England make them pay?