Boxing Day Test: Thumping victory – but ‘gutsy’ Aussies won’t rub it in

Having achieved what no team has in 17 years, the Australian cricketers joined in a restrained but emotional embrace.

Mitchell Starc embraces David Warner after Australia’s win in the second Test against South Africa. Picture: Getty Images

Having achieved what no team before them has in 17 years, the Australian cricketers came ­together in a restrained but emotional embrace on Thursday, ­reflecting on the special place they find themselves in.

Nice guys, it seems, don’t ­finish last. On day four of the Boxing Day Test at the MCG, Pat Cummins’ XI had just secured the first series win over South Africa at home since 2005-06.

They’d defied exhausting heat and significant injuries to win by an innings and 182 runs. They have not lost a series since Cummins took over before the 2021-22 Ashes, beating England, Pakistan, the West Indies and now South Africa in that period. The only minor blemish was a drawn series against Sri Lanka.

There was no triumphalism at the conclusion of this Test, but there was real feeling when Cummins, Alex Carey and Marnus ­Labuschagne gathered David Warner in a group hug.

Labuschagne handed him a stump to commemorate his historic double century in his 100th Test match and Carey took one to mark his maiden ton. Australian cricket great Ricky Ponting later went to the rooms and presented Warner with a framed memento on behalf of the team.

This, Cummins said later, was a side at peace with itself but, more importantly, one that was playing some very good cricket.

“Probably the best test team I’ve played in,” he said, with mate Mitchell Starc by his side.

“Just in terms of how well settled everyone is, how well everyone knows their game plan. In terms of captaining, I feel like I don’t really have to do too much. Everyone looks after themselves and you’ve got to just make sure the bus is on time, which the team manager does, and everyone does their thing when we get here.

“It’s just in a really sweet spot at the moment. We know it isn’t going to stay like this forever, but I think we can sit back and appreciate the place we’re in at the moment because it’s really special.

“We’re having a hell of a lot of fun doing it together with some of our best mates.”

It is tradition for the team to list the achievements of players when they sing the team song after the match – and Cummins gave some hint of just how long and how significant those achievements had been. “Starcy, with a finger that’s going to put him out for a few weeks, to have the bravery to go out there and do that,” he said. “Cam Green the same, gutsing it out for us. Steve Smith and Davey on day two, 38 degrees, gutsy, gutsy innings.

“Even Joshy Hazlewood before the game, putting his hand up and removing himself from selection, just speaks volumes for the team at the moment. Winning by an innings and 200-odd runs doesn’t tell the full story. Alex Carey’s innings with Greenie yesterday to give us that big lead … there’s so many individual stories.”

Given the scandal and turmoil that has surrounded Australian cricket in recent years – not to mention the toxicity of previous series against South Africa – it is worth pausing to acknowledge the serene situation this side finds itself in. Starc, who bowled and batted with a detached ligament on his dominant hand and will be out for at least six weeks, was in the brightest of moods as he sat by his captain.

“It’s just a really enjoyable place to be, and I think it’s been that way particularly for the last 12 to 18 months,” he said.

“We’re playing good cricket, it’s a really settled team. There’s a lot of trust, whether it’s preparation, knowing what you need to be ready for a Test, or know that you’re going to deliver through the week. It’s team-first for this group.”

Should they manage to hold their standards against India in India and England in the UK later this year, this side will find itself ranked among the best. “We’ve been playing fantastically, especially at home,” Cummins said.

“I think that’s now five series in a row that we’ve retained or won the trophy. It’s always the hope coming in that we can continue that form and, if anything, we’ve gone to another level.”