Australia v Sri Lanka 1st Test at the Gabba: Pat Cummins stars as Aussies wrap up win in under three days

Tim Paine says Pat Cummins’ Gabba pace blitz would have challenged any team in the world as the Australian captain declared he has not given up on struggling spearhead Mitchell Starc.

Pat Cummins was the star of the show as the Aussies cruised to victory.

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Tim Paine says Pat Cummins’ Gabba pace blitz would have challenged any team in the world as the Australian captain declared he has not given up on struggling spearhead Mitchell Starc.

Cummins gave Australia the sugar-shot it’s been craving in the first Test against Sri Lanka and the emphatic dismantling of the tourists inside three days served as a much-needed confidence booster for a toiling outfit which desperately needed a win to lift the mood.

Cummins showed why he is Australia’s $2.5 million top-ranked player by producing one of the most dominant performance of his career in a Test where rookie quick Jhye Richardson also announced himself as an Ashes certainty.

Pat Cummins was the star of the show as the Aussies cruised to victory.

It was as if the relentless pressure Cummins applied to India all summer finally burst through the dam wall and it seemed every ball he bowled to the hapless Sri Lankans had wicket-taking potential as he finished with career-best figures of 6-23 for the innings and 10-62 for the match.

Golden boy Cummins blazed through the first three Sri Lankan batsmen without conceding a run, and then the icing was applied thanks to a one-handed screamer at gully from Kurtis Patterson as victory approached.

However, despite the strength of the Cummins powerhouse, the inescapable contrast was that Starc (0-56) couldn’t buy a wicket, sending a tremor through their Ashes preparations even as Australia bolted to an innings and 40-run triumph.

Cummins appeared to take the mantle as the side’s first-choice fast bowler when he was chosen ahead of Starc for the first use of the newish ball early in the day, and he responded by dismantling the edgy Sri Lankan batting line-up.

“If Pat Cummins bowls against anyone the way he bowled this game he would take wickets,’’ Paine said.

“He was just relentless with his line and length. He gave them nothing until the end when he got tired.

Kurtis Patterson pulls off an incredible grab at gully.

“It looked like the ball was coming out of his hand a little better than it was in the Indian series when at times his seam was not perfect. I thought in this Test there was times when it was perfect.

“I was really proud of the way we went about it - seven of our players were 25 or under.

“If we execute with the ball the way we did I think we will have success against a lot of teams on a lot of different surfaces.

“Any Test win you can have in three days is good. It’s hard to do. But we are nowhere near the finished product. We are a long way off where we want to be.’’

Starc entered the 200-wicket club this Test match to confirm his world class status, but in the here and now the left-armer is under severe scrutiny for one of the only times in his career.

Mitch Starc didn’t really fire at the Gabba.

It would be a brave call to leave Starc out for the second Test on a flat Manuka Oval deck in Canberra when the Sri Lankan top order look like sitting ducks, but the 28-year-old’s claim to a starting spot for the first Ashes XI in August is slipping further with every stutter.

Paine said Starc would continue to be backed in.

“We have known for a long time what we are going to get from Starcy. Sometimes he can be a bit erratic. But when he on he is literally the best in the world,” said Paine.

“What we have got with those two (Cummins and Richardson) and Nathan (Lyon) is the ability to build up pressure over a long period of time and be able to release Starcy in really short spells.

“I think his best is not too far away and while those two are bowling like that it allows us to use him slightly differently which is good.

Jhye Richardson picked up five wickets for the match.

“He is working really hard. He is doing a lot of extra things that he was doing in the past so clearly he knows he is not at his best. He is working hard to get that.

“Starcy has been really good for a long period of time but anyone at any level of cricket goes through times when it does not go your way ... he is one wicket and one spell away from being devastating.”

Starc pushed the speedometer to 150km/h in the Brisbane heat yesterday, but there was no accuracy or sense that he was bowling to a plan and his economy rate of 4 per over was double that of any of his teammates.

Starc appeared agitated and showed the hallmarks of a man not at peace with his game.