We navigated well on a pitch that didn’t have anything: Cummins

With only 70 runs required for a famous win, it wasn’t just the Australian fans who had flashbacks of the 2019 stinging loss at Headingley. Australian skipper Pat Cummins, who that day was at the receiving end of some brilliance from Ben Stokes (135*), was tasked with seeing his side through. 

It was that man yet again. Only things were much worse. The equation was much less this time, and the conditions were much more docile. Stokes wasn’t sparing any bowlers, and as the session progressed, it was well and truly for Cummins to change his plans, on a pitch that had nothing on it. 

The Australian bowlers started to bowl much wider lines, forcing Stokes to go against the bowling, and that eventually resulted in Josh Hazlewood getting the left-hander caught out. Cummins also insisted that there was a few ‘heart-stopping’ moments. 

"Another wonderful game, right down to the wire. Few heart-stopping moments, the crowd seemed to enjoy it. Been a good day. [Headingley] A world-class player like Ben, at the top of his game, you start thinking the boundaries look pretty small. Not a lot in the wicket, it was tough, but I thought the way we navigated through it was good,” Cummins said in the post-match presentation. 

However, unlike the pain-staking loss at Headingley, Australia had a backup plan here, which revolved a lot around ‘patience’ and bowling to the fields. In the absence of their star spinner, Nathan Lyon, the job was cut out for Cummins, the captain. 

“Glad to have 200 on the board rather than 100 like at Headingley. Tried to stay patient, have the fields out for a bit. We stuck with it, happy to go at two an over. Losing Lyon, those games are set up for him on day five. To win without him is huge. The batters under lights, too. Huge win,” he added.

Australia had a decision to make when they sent an injured Lyon out to bat. While it might seem like a decision that was taken by the management, Cummins spilt the beans, stating that Lyon wanted to go out and bat. He also added that Todd Murphy could replace him in the third Test. 

“Wasn't particularly happy, but he was keen to get out there, did an amazing job and those 15-20 runs looked pretty important at the end. [Done for series?] Imagine so, we've got Todd Murphy here."

Cummins’ and Australia’s misery didn’t just end there, at bowling to Stokes, it surrounded them after Alex Carey’s sharp work behind the stumps. Both the skippers - Stokes and Cummins - agreed that it was well within the game's Laws. 

“Carey saw it happen previously, it's in the Laws, totally fair play. That's how I saw it.”