T20 World Cup: Pat Cummins’ historic hat trick creates headache for Australian selectors

Pat Cummins’ brilliant T20 World Cup hat-trick wrote his name into the record books, but it’s placed enormous pressure on selectors as Australia weighs up its team for Afghanistan.

Pat Cummins’ brilliant World Cup hat-trick has placed enormous pressure on selectors as Australia weighs up whether Ashton Agar is needed for a spinning minefield against Afghanistan.

Cummins has made himself close to undroppable – if he wasn’t already – with his man-of-the-match dismantling of Bangladesh in the first Super 8s match, but Mitchell Starc with his assassin-like first-over strike-rate and Josh Hazlewood with his miserly maidens are also virtually impossible to leave out.

Yet one of them will have to ride the pine if selectors feel they have no choice but to include a second specialist spinner in Agar to navigate a treacherous track on the island of St Vincent where 100 has felt like a defendable total in previous matches this World Cup.

Pat Cummins celebrates his hat trick against West Indies. Picture: Gareth Copley/Getty Images

Australia’s 28-run DLS spanking of Bangladesh, hammered home by David Warner’s unbeaten 53 off 35 balls, was as clinical as any of their dominant performances so far this World Cup and they will start firm favourites against Afghanistan on Sunday morning AEST, except for the fact St Vincent promises a deck where Rashid Khan’s men could feel at home on.

Cummins admits he had no idea he’d even taken his first ever international hat-trick – which went across two overs – and he barely celebrated as a result, even though he was the first Australian since his boyhood hero Brett Lee in 2007 to take a T20 World Cup hatty.

The all-format king-pin concedes the ‘big three’ are bracing for the prospect of being broken up against Afghanistan despite strangling Bangladesh for 8-140 bowling first on a frustratingly rain-affected night in Antigua.

Selectors played Agar in Australia’s last group match against Scotland specifically because they felt they may need to call on him in St Vincent which has been recording 5-7 degree turn.

Ashton Agar, pictured celebrating with Glenn Maxwell, could be brought in for the clash with Afghanistan. Picture: Robert Cianflone/Getty Images

“Potentially. We’ve been pretty open with that. Anyone in the squad is ready to play and the bowling line-up might change at different times,” Cummins said after his first hat-trick since he was 17 playing second XI cricket for NSW.

“Even the batting line-up or the batting order might change and things like that.

“We’ve just got to be adaptable. Obviously Ash (Agar) played last game and he bowled really well.

“We feel like we’ve got all bases covered so we’ll rock up there and the best thing of all this is I’m not captain or selector so just turn up and have no worries.”

Warner and Travis Head (31 off 21) virtually killed the run-chase by reaching 0-59 at the end of the six-over power play before a rain delay hit, and even losing 2-11 in the three overs following the break couldn’t halt Australia – with Glenn Maxwell’s 14 not out off six cameo ensuring a strong net run rate result even though the match could not be completed following a final downpour.

Australia has the most brutal schedule of any team in the Super 8s, summed up by Cummins telling journalists “see you at the game tomorrow” when he walked out of the press conference after 1am local time – just hours before they then board a flight to St Vincent.

Pat Cummins of Australia celebrates with Mitchell Marsh after dismissing Bangladesh’s Taskin Ahmed for his hat trick. Picture: Gareth Copley/Getty Images

But Australia is humming and Cummins says the team is riding high in the saddle.

“We’ve ticked off everything we could possibly do so far. I thought tonight overall was a pretty polished performance which is what you want in Super 8s,” Cummins said.

“Obviously two points but also the good run rate. And it feels like over the course of the tournament so far, just about everyone has had … a couple of performances which they should take confidence out of.

“We feel well positioned. Obviously it doesn’t mean that much but feels like we’re in as good a place as we could be.”

Starc got Australia off to a flyer with his customary first-over wicket, before Hazlewood followed in with a second-over maiden.

Adam Zampa was at his clinical best with two wickets, while Maxwell and Marcus Stoinis each chipped in with a wicket each to illustrate the array of options captain Mitch Marsh has at his disposal.

Adam Zampa was at his clinical best for Australia with two wickets. Picture: Gareth Copley/Getty Images

In taking the first two wickets of his hat-trick to end the 18th over, and his third to start the 20th – Cummins had to be told by teammates he had entered the record books as only the seventh man to take a T20 hat-trick in a World Cup.

“You’re giving me too much credit because no, I didn’t know I was on a hat-trick,” Cummins said.

“I did the previous over, I saw it come up on the screen. Then by the time the next over came around I totally forgot about it.

“I think Stoin (Stoinis) just ran in from the deep and was cheering and I was like, ‘oh yeah, I forgot about that.’ So nice one.

“I think I got one in grade cricket, maybe fourth grade. And I think I got one in second XI when I was 17 and I think the hat-trick was similar (to tonight).

“It was the first ball of the last over and it was (former Australian opener) Joe Burns. I went to bowl a slower ball and he ducked underneath it and it hit the bail on the full. So, yeah, not too dissimilar to today’s.”

Originally published as T20 World Cup: Pat Cummins’ historic hat trick creates headache for Australian selectors