Australia captain Pat Cummins said that he’s quite pleased that the Australian bowling attack could keep Joe Root quiet so far in the first three Tests of the ongoing Ashes series. The hosts are currently leading the series by 3-0 with three comprehensive wins at Brisbane, Adelaide, and Melbourne.
The 4th test match will begin on January 5 in Sydney as Australia is eying for the 5-0 whitewash. England hasn’t won a Test match in Australia since January 2011. Joe Root & Co. would want to change that in the next two tests. Joe Root was a prolific run-scorer in the year 2021 as the right-hander broke many records with 1708 runs with an average of 61 which included 6 hundreds.
“I think England have sacrificed quite a lot to come over here”-Pat Cummins
In this series, he was again leading run-scorer for England with 253 runs in 6 innings with three fifties but he couldn’t play any match-defining knock so far which he was doing earlier against Sri Lanka and India. Australian skipper Cummins believes that Australia executed the plans brilliantly against his opposite number.
“Yeah, I think he (Root) has been batting really well. But yeah, hasn’t played that match-defining knock which has been great. I think everyone’s bowled really well at him,” Cummins said.
Cummins also pointed out that all-rounder Cameron Green’s growth as a bowler definitely helped them. Green dismissed Root twice when England captain was approaching the three-figure mark in Brisbane and Adelaide.
“Someone like Cam Green to step up, as a captain, I feel like I’ve got a lot of options to throw at him. That’s what you need when you’re playing against the best players in the world. So, yeah, he’s looked good, it’s up to us to try and keep him quiet. But that’s been a really pleasing part of our bowling attack so far,” he added.
However, Cummins lauded the spirit of the visitors as they carry on with the series despite the Covid scare in their camp. For the 4th Test match, England will be without their head coach Chris Silverwood who was tested positive a few days back.
“I think they’ve sacrificed quite a lot to come over here. You know, a couple of weeks quarantine, time away from families. You know, some restrictions on what they can do as opposed to pre-pandemic. And I think them having some positive cases, the coach obviously being away from this game, I think it’s been really tough for them. So we’re just really thankful that they’re out here you know, as part of the series,” Cummins said