Pat Cummins shamelessly pleads Not Guilty after leaving Alex Carey stranded on 98 Not Out

Australian wicket-keeper batsman Alex Carey missed out on a rare century in the successful 4th innings chase of 279 against New Zealand in the 2nd and series concluding Test. Carey has to blame his captain Pat Cummins for remaining at 98* as the latter scored the winning runs of a famous 3-wicket win at the Hagley Oval in Christchurch.

It was a comeback victory scripted by the reigning Test and ODI champions who were initially a bit behind in the game but later crawled their way back. Australia were asked to chase down 279 for the win and it was largely made possible by the efforts of the Aussie middle and lower-middle order. Skipper Pat Cummins himself had to come down to play a 32-run innings off 44 balls.

Carey laughs off after Pat Cummins denied him a century

It’s not every other day that you see Alex Carey score a century from the lower-middle-order position. While his spot in the white ball formats looks bleak, his red-ball career has offered him a chance of redemption. And to continue playing for the Test side, Carey needed to fire from number 7 in the 4th innings to snatch victory from the hands of his Trans-Tasman rivals.

He was, in fact, happy to sacrifice his 2nd Test century for the win as nothing beats the feeling of guiding and driving and being the key reason for a comeback win. After the win, when Pat Cummins was talking through the exhilarating 2nd Test win, he claimed he didn’t know if Carey was 2 runs short of a century.

“I had no idea he was on 98. That would have been embarrassing if he was celebrating (his century) and I wasn’t looking.” – Pat Cummins said during the post-match presentation.

Then later during the press conference at the Hagley Oval stadium, Alex Carey was asked for his reaction to Pat Cummins denying him a century. Carey said that he was quite happy with that as he didn’t want to get the strike again. “I was happy with that. I didn’t want to get on strike again.” – Carey told reporters.

Cummins says “Love Test cricket” after a hard-fought and well-deserved victory at Christchurch

Australia arrived for the 2nd Test having beaten the hosts in the 1st match by a heavy margin of 172 runs. Momentum and the winning intent were all over on the minds of Pat Cummins’ men but New Zealand had a short fightback. After getting bowled out for 165, the Kiwi bowling attack led by Matt Henry who registered a 7-wicket haul, restricted Aussies for 256.

In the 3rd innings, New Zealand displayed proper Test batting as Tom Latham’s 73, Kane Williamson’s 51, Rachin Ravindra’s 82, Daryl Mitchell’s 58, and finishing touches from Glenn Phillips (16), Scott Kuggeleijn (44) and Henry (16), ensure New Zealand post 279 as the target.

Australia’s response was terrible as the the top-order of Steve Smith, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Cameron Green and Travis Head stood for just 49 runs. Australia were down to 5 wickets at 80 runs and from there, Mitchell Marsh and Alex Carey steadied the ship by putting up a 140-run partnership before Marsh departed for 80.

Carey then produced a 61-run partnership with Pat Cummins and stayed until the win was ensured. It was not the easiest of wins for Australia but they have been in these situations many times. Cummins revealed he asked his players to remain busy and keep the scoreboard moving before the win was guaranteed.

“I just told the boys to keep the scoreboard moving, stay busy, and put the pressure on the opposition. We’ve got an experienced side, the story of this series has been guys standing up in crunch moments. Love playing Test matches, the best format of cricket and it pays off on days like this.” – Pat Cummins concluded.