PAK vs AUS: Pat Cummins Highlights Pakistan's Struggles In Test Cricket

Australian skipper Pat Cummins speaking at the pre-match press conference ahead of the third Test at SCG spoke about Pakistan’s alarming status of Test cricket especially overseas.

Pakistan plays very little Test cricket overseas. They play red-ball cricket majorly at home. This ongoing series against Australia has highlighted Pakistan’s struggles as a Test cricketing nation and its rich inclination towards T20I cricket.

Pakistan are on a 16-match losing streak in Test matches against Australia a trend that started back in 1995. They have lost two back-to-back Test matches by big margins. The Men in Green lost the first Test by 360 runs and the second by 79 runs. They have fallen to the fifth position in the ongoing World Test Championship cycle.

Cummins highlighted the struggle of teams like West Indies and Pakistan while speaking about the declining trend of Test cricket in modern cricket. Cummins as a captain won the World Test Championship final last year against India.

There Were Some Question Marks On Pakistan: Pat Cummins

“My hopes are that it’s [Test cricket] even stronger than it is now, in 10 years time or 20 years time. I grew up absolutely loving Test cricket. I think it does go through phases. I know the South African team isn’t sending their strongest side. I’m hoping it’s a phase. I think in some regards leading to this Test summer, some of the question marks were against Pakistan and West Indies” said Cummins.

“We’ve had two fantastic Test matches against Pakistan, really well supported, big crowds. So I don’t think it’s in as dramatic decline as sometimes it gets spoken about. But I think there is an issue just with the amount of other cricket out there, obviously, competition for talent is higher than it’s ever been” he further added.

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Cummins further spoke about the importance of the World Test Championships and that this event has given a different importance to Test cricket and has given it a new relevance. He further spoke about getting into a position where 15-20 teams are playing Test cricket.

“Now that the World Test Championship is there. Every Test match is important. We’ve got a couple of points to make up for some over rates in England. Every game has context and it’s a home Test match, every Test match you play is big, but everyone in Australia is even bigger. Ideally, we find a way to make it work where we’ve got 15 or 20 Test-playing nations who are all really strong. I understand there are lots of different challenges, so I feel really privileged that in Australia it’s a priority and it’s really well-supported every time we play. I don’t know what the silver bullet is, but it’d be great if there was one” added Cummins.

Cummins was the Player of the Match in the second Test where he took 10 wickets in the match. 2023 was the year of Pat Cummins where he retained the Ashes and won the World Test Championship, the World Cup, and a Test series against Pakistan. Having won the series, he is now aiming for a clean sweep.

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