Australian pacer Pat Cummins has been selected as the ICC Test Cricketer of 2019. The right-arm fast bowler had a cracking year in 2019, especially in Test cricket.
The 26-year-old Pat Cummins made his international debut in 2011, at the age of 18-year-old. But the fitness issues always put him trouble in his cricket career. However, he has never given up, rather than he has always returned to the cricket stronger. Now, he is enjoying the best period of his cricket career.
Pat Cummins was incredible in the year 2019. Not only in Test cricket but the right-arm fast bowler also finished as the most wicket-taker in the entire international cricket in 2019. In the last calendar year, while he took 59 Test wickets in 12 Tests (23 innings), he also picked up 99 international wickets in 35 international matches (46 innings). He managed to take 14 more Test wickets than any other bowler in 2019 while he also managed to grab 22 more wickets than any other bowler in that same year.
5️⃣9️⃣ Test wickets in 2019 ?
14 more than any other bowler ?
Pat Cummins is the 2019 Test Cricketer of the Year ? #ICCAwards pic.twitter.com/QDC4LW1oHl
— ICC (@ICC) January 15, 2020
At present, Pat Cummins is the no.1-ranked Test bowler with the rating points of 904. During the Ashes 2019, he achieved his best career rating points in Test bowling, and that was 914 – joint-most for an Australian bowler (Glenn McGrath also achieved this rating-point).
After winning this award, Cummins said, “It’s a tremendous honour to be considered the best player of last year and one which was certainly unexpected. I owe much to my team, teammates and all those involved in Australian cricket for what was a really successful year for the team.
“The highlight was certainly being able to retain the Ashes which was a great reward for the hard work that went into that tour.”
Pat Cummins’ series by series performances in 2019 Test cricket
| Opposition | Venue | Matches (Innings) | Wickets | Month(s) |
| India | Home | 1 (1) | 0 | January |
| Sri Lanka | Home | 2 (4) | 14 | January-February |
| England | Away | 5 (10) | 29 | August-September |
| Pakistan | Home | 2 (4) | 8 | November-December |
| New Zealand | Home | 2 (4) | 8 | December |
(Special Note: the Test series against India started in December 2018, and the Test series against New Zealand ended in January 2020)
Pat Cummins played a huge role for Australia in securing the Ashes 2019 trophy which was their first-ever away Ashes trophy success since 2001. Though the Ashes 2019 had the 2-2 result at the end, Australia retained the trophy due to performing in that series as the defending title-holders. Cummins finished that series as the leading wicket-taker as he bagged 29 wickets in that series.
Though another Australian cricketer Marnus Labuschagne also had the brilliant year as a batsman in 2019, Pat Cummins ultimately won the battle of Test Cricketer of 2019. In 2019, Labuschagne scored 1,104 runs in 11 Test matches (17 innings) with an average of 64.94, including three centuries and seven half-centuries.