Reputations at stake in World Test Championship final and Ashes for Pat Cummins’ Aussies

Having just blown an opportunity in India, this Australian Test team’s legacy will be forged by what happens in the World Test Championship final and Ashes, captain Pat Cummins admits.

Pat Cummins accepts that the legacy of this generation’s Australian side will be forged over the next eight weeks, “whether we like it or not”.

Eight of the Aussie XI contesting the World Test Championship final against India are in their 30s, while squad members Michael Neser, Josh Hazlewood, Marcus Harris and Mitch Marsh also fall into that age bracket.

While Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Hazlewood, Nathan Lyon, Steve Smith, David Warner and Usman Khawaja are all hugely accomplished Test players with years of shared experience, none has ever played in a winning away Ashes series, albeit the Aussies retained the urn on English soil courtesy of a 2-2 draw four years ago.

The group of veterans has already blown one chance for a landmark series win, after being shaded by India on the subcontinent earlier this year in what was likely their last chance in an away Border-Gavaskar Trophy series.

But with a chance to become the first Australian team to win the WTC, and then end a 22-year away Ashes series drought, the opportunity for era-shaping achievements remains.

Speaking ahead of the WTC final, Australian captain Cummins, 30, agreed that the side’s performances over the next couple of months would play a huge role in how this batch of players is remembered.

Pat Cummins inspects the pitch prior to the ICC World Test Championship final at The Oval. Picture: Ryan Pierse/Getty Images

“Yeah, probably. Yeah, whether we like it or not, these big series of where you look back at the areas of cricket teams and kind of judge a lot of their performances, so yeah, that’s an exciting opportunity for us,” Cummins said.

“We’ve spoken a lot about having a settled squad, settled team and yeah, I’m no doubt this will be the last Ashes away tour for a few of the guys, so yeah it’s all ... it’s exciting.”

Australia narrowly missed qualifying for the first WTC final two years ago, undone by a sloppy over rate during the 2020 Boxing Day Test, a home series defeat to India, and an aborted tour of South Africa.

New Zealand ultimately claimed the maiden crown, beating India in the decider at Southampton.

However, while India has not won a senior ICC event since the 2013 Champions Trophy, Australia has had more recent success in global finals, winning the 2015 one-day World Cup and then the 2021 Twenty20 World Cup.

Cummins was optimistic that Australia’s success in such matches would help his side at The Oval this week.

“I hope so,” Cummins said. “You know, one thing about playing lots of cricket is you get experience in pressure moments and finals, you know, there‘s no higher pressure situation.

“So again, that’s one of the benefits of having an experienced side. We’ve seen it all before. We’ve been in these moments and have taken the confidence to know that no matter what happens, you’re going to be OK on the other side of it and just take the game on, enjoy it and yeah, I think that’s what you’ll see from our group this week.”

Scott Boland speaks to Pat Cummins during an Australian training session prior to the ICC World Test Championship final at The Oval. Picture: Ryan Pierse/Getty Images

While the future of Test cricket remains a source of concern amid discussion of 12-month contracts from IPL franchises, Cummins was upbeat about the role that the WTC final could play in helping the long-term future of the game’s longest format.

“I hope this week shows that it does work. I think every day is a sellout. I just had a meeting there where they said it’s probably going to be the most-watched Test match ever played. So hopefully this event is a real event that’s here to stay,” Cummins said.

“We’ve certainly spoken about it over the last couple of years and yeah, in terms of its place in the wider cricketing scope, yeah there’s lots of content out there nowadays and probably more competition than there has been before. I know in Australia, we’re fortunate, you turn up to the Test matches there at a home summer, the crowds are packed, millions of people watching on TV, so I hope so. You know, every Test player that I’ve come up against talks about their love of the game, so I hope so, but obviously times are changing also.”

Cummins meanwhile confirmed that Starc would continue to bat ahead of him at No.8 for the time being.

“We’re pretty flexible, we might change, drop and change a bit, just depending on gut feel really,” Cummins said.

“We’re both happy about eight or nine, we’re not very stressed but he’s been really good at that number. As captain, he gives me a little bit more of a breather at times as well. So we’ll stay flexible but at this stage, he’ll bat at eight.”

Originally published as Reputations at stake in World Test Championship final and Ashes for Pat Cummins’ Aussies