Ashes 2023: "Probably Not, No" - Pat Cummins Admits He Wouldn’t Have Declared On Day 1 Of The First Test In The Marquee Event

Australia captain Pat Cummins stated he wasn’t overly surprised by the English team’s decision to declare their innings on day 1 of the first Test in the ongoing Ashes series. Pat Cummins admitted that he would’ve declared their innings like Ben Stokes because every run was important on a flat track.

The England team won the toss and opted to bat first at Edgbaston in Birmingham. The Ben Stokes-led team scored 393-8 in 78 overs. Ace batter Joe Root was at the crease with an unbeaten 118 runs, but Ben Stokes decided to declare their innings and put Australia into bat in the last 20 minutes.

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When asked if he would have declared with Australia 393-8 and their best batter on 118 not out, Pat Cummins said that the wicket was easy to bat on and it was important to add more runs in the first innings.

“Probably not, no. I wasn’t overly surprised, but the wicket felt pretty good, so I thought every run was pretty much needed in that first innings,” Cummins told reporters in a post-match press conference.

Did the declaration cost England the match? ?#ENGvAUS #CricketTwitter pic.twitter.com/HEskWX1gDJ

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I Am Not A Captain Who Gets By On What Ifs – Ben Stokes

Meanwhile, the England captain expressed no regrets over the first-innings declaration and added that he wanted to pick up a couple of wickets before the stumps on the opening day.

“I thought that was a time to pounce,” Stokes told BBC Test Match Special.

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“I am not going to change the way I have gone about my cricket because it is the Ashes. Who knows we could have got an extra 40 runs or lost two wickets in two balls. I am not a captain who gets by on what ifs,” he added.

The Pat Cummins-led team came to bat just before the stumps on the first day of the match. Openers Usman Khawaja and David Warner negotiated with England bowlers Ollie Robinson and Stuart Borad and scored 14 runs in 4 overs without losing any wickets.

Also read:Ashes 2023: “Who Knows, If I Did Take That Catch, We Could Have Got Josh Hazlewood Out First Ball” – Ben Stokes On Dropping Nathan Lyon’s Catch

We Just Didn’t Manage To Get Over The Line – Ben Stokes

The English skipper said that that match wouldn’t have been exciting if he hadn’t declared the innings on day 1. Stokes said that he won’t look back on the game as a “what if,” as they were unable to cross the finish line.

“If we were in the same position? Yeah. I would like to be 398 for 6 with 20 minutes left. That would be great.

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“I could also turn it around and say, ‘if we didn’t declare, would we have got the excitement that we did at the end of day five?‘ I’m not a hundred percent sure, but I’m not going to be looking back on this game as ‘what ifs’… the reality is, we just didn’t manage to get over the line.”

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