The last few months have been nothing less than a rollercoaster ride for Australia Test captain Pat Cummins. Just a couple of months ago, he had to leave his team midway through the challenging Test series in India to be with his mother Maria who was fighting breast cancer.
Cummins was expected to return to India after meeting his mother but decided to stay with her. He also withdrew from this year’s Indian Premier League where he was set to play for Kolkata Knight Riders. The fast-bowler gave up his $1.3million contract with KKR to stay at home. The Cummins family then suffered a tragic loss as Maria passed away.
Cummins eventually returned to action after a 4-month gap and led his team to glory in the ICC World Test Championship final against India earlier this month. And on Tuesday (June 20), he starred with both bat and ball to help Australia earn a thrilling 2-wicket win over England in the first Ashes Test. After scoring 38 runs in the first innings, he scored an unbeaten 44 in the second to help his side chase down 281 against all the odds.
Emotional Pat Cummins on his father and brother’s support:
Following the win, Pat Cummins spoke about how lucky he was to have his father and brother at Edgbaston to support him. He recalled the 2019 tour of England when his mother also attended the Ashes games along with his father.
“It was really special, Dad has been here all week and I just feel lucky to have him here,” Cummins said.
“It’s been a tough few months. My brother has been here all week as well. Dad was here in 2019 with Mum. Having him here was just really special,” he added.
Australia chased down 281 to take the lead in the five-match series. They were reeling at 227 for 8 before Cummins and Nathan Lyon shared an unbeaten stand of 55 runs to take their team home. The second Test of the five-match series is scheduled to be played at Lord’s from June 28.