‘Ah. Cool’: Cummins’ hilarious response to Pakistan’s wild ‘played better’ claim

Pat Cummins had a perfect response to Pakistan’s claims they “played better” and were robbed of victory in the Boxing Day Test.

After taking home the Urn despite England’s ‘moral victory’ in The Ashes, Australian skipper Pat Cummins was surprised to hear Pakistan were the superior team in a Boxing Day Test.

That is the assessment of Pakistan’s team director Mohammad Hafeez, who after issuing a stinging critique of the officiating at the MCG, declared they had outplayed “the other team” despite falling short by 79 runs.

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“The whole game I will sum up, our Pakistan team played better than the other team in general,” he said after the match.

In response, the Boxing Day Test man of the match smiled before declaring; “Ahhhh. Cool. They played well. I am glad we got the win.”

“It doesn’t really matter, does it? It is the team who wins at the end,” Cummins said.

The Decision Review System and its merits became the subject of spirited debate after Cummins launched a successful review to dismiss Mohammad Rizwan in the latter stages of the Test on Friday with the match still in the balance.

It was among the decisions that drew the ire of Hafeez, who declared the officiating inconsistent and the DRS technology a “curse” on cricket after Pakistan arguably had four umpiring decisions go against them during the Test.

Pat Cummins had an ice-cold reaction to a wild Pakistan claim.

But Hafeez acknowledged that dropped catches were also critical, with David Warner in the first innings and then Mitch Marsh in the second innings adding a combined 112 runs after Abdullah Shafique spilled chances when fielding at first slip.

Cummins, while acknowledging the decision-making process was not always perfect, said a balance tended to be found in every game regardless of the calls made by umpires.

“We don’t totally agree with (that assessment). It is not a perfect science, the DRS system or umpiring or anything. Some go your way. Some don’t,” he said.

“There were a few umpires calls for both teams. It is a game. I think it all evens itself out. I feel like this game was 50-50. There was nothing that worried us too much.”

Cummins, who struck with decisive wickets throughout the Test whenever Pakistan had momentum, was confident Rizwan was out from the moment he heard a sound.

“He was playing pretty well around the stumps, so I thought, ‘Let’s try a few bounces. Set the fields. See if he wants to take it on.’” Cummins said.

“That one just kind of shot through. I heard something (which I thought) was glove, or thereabouts, so I thought it was worth a review. It was clearly off the glove strap.”

Fox Cricket analyst Michael Vaughan said that for all the debate surrounding the Rizwan dismissal, the “right decision was made” by third umpire Richard Illingworth.

“It was out,” Vaughan told foxsports.com.au

“I know people get frustrated that it takes a bit of time and people are saying that ‘If you are looking at so many replays, how can you be sure?’

“But I felt there was enough indication that the ball came off the sweatband of the glove and I think Richard Illingworth did it the right way by taking his time.”

Pakistan batsmen Mohammad Rizwan (C) was furious after being given out.

While queries can be raised about some decisions, it is indisputable that Cummins was the critical player in securing Australia the Boxing Day Test which also clinched the Benaud Qadir Trophy.

The dismissal of Rizwan gave Cummins, who finished with ten wickets for the match, his 250th Test wicket.

Earlier in the day, he also moved past Richie Benaud into 10th position on the all-time list of Australian wicket takers.

He sits second in terms of averages behind Glenn McGrath and has a strike rate better than any other bowler in Australian history.

Cummins, who claimed five wickets in both innings, said the series triumph over Pakistan was a pleasing way to finish off a successful year which included the stunning victory in the ODI World Cup in India.

“Personally, I think (I’m) really happy for a few reasons. Probably the one main reason is it is the best that I felt like I have bowled for a little while,” Cummins said.

“My rhythm felt really good. I felt like I had good pace. I knew where my wrist was. I could control the seam. I bowled some good bounces. So I felt really happy with how I was bowling.

“And as a team, it was just a huge year in all formats. We had a lot of success and to top it off by winning a series at home, which we pride ourselves on doing, is pretty satisfying.”

Originally published as ‘Ah. Cool’: Cummins’ hilarious response to Pakistan’s wild ‘played better’ claim