Pat Cummins declares it’s against the Spirit of Cricket to manipulate England’s World Cup exit
Spirit of Cricket might have been bandied around selectively by England last year, but Pat Cummins believes the term does apply when it comes to a big non-negotiable in this World Cup.
Pat Cummins believes manipulating the net run rate to oust England from the World Cup would have been against the Spirit of Cricket.
The huge debate has abruptly become a moot point anyway, after England torched Oman by eight wickets on Friday morning – chasing down the 48-run target required in just 3.1 overs to move above Scotland on net run rate.
It means England will qualify for the Super Eights provided they beat Namibia and Scotland don’t upset Australia on Sunday morning.
England’s net run rate has shot up to 3.08 and Scotland’s is 2.16 and is no longer a factor.
Speaking before England’s demolition of Oman, Cummins emphatically denied Australia would have even considered performing a ‘go-slow’ against Scotland in their final group match, if it were a way of eliminating England.
Just two days ago, Josh Hazlewood conceded it would be in Australia’s best interests to get England “out of the tournament,” but Cummins attempted to clarify those comments and went as far to say he believes deliberately influencing net run rate would contravene the game’s moral code.
“Probably. When you go out and play, you’re trying your best every time,” Cummins said in St Lucia.
“And if you’re not, it’s probably against the spirit of cricket. I haven’t really thought too deeply because it’s never really popped up.
“I don’t (think) you can – ever. You’re playing an international
“I don’t you can (break your natural momentum) – ever. You’re playing an international game in the middle of a World Cup.
“You still want to try and have a good game and carry that on into the Super Eights.
“I’ve never stepped onto the field without the mindset of being aggressive like the guys have so far.“
Cummins claimed Hazlewood’s comments were made tongue-in-cheek and taken out of context, declaring Australia had not discussed any plan to take England’s net run rate equation into consideration had it still been a factor when they walked onto the field for the final game of the group against Scotland.
“Not seriously. I was speaking to Joshy who had a bit of a joke about it the other day and it got taken a bit out of context,” Cummins said.
“We’ll go out there and try to play Scotland who have had a really good tournament so far, so it’s going to be tough.
“It’s something (run rate) you discuss as one of the quirks of the setup, but does it change the way we play? Absolutely not.“
However, Cummins said he “would not be surprised” if Australia rested multiple players for the Scotland match – as it is an ideal opportunity to get squad members Cameron Green, Ashton Agar, Josh Inglis and Nathan Ellis match practice before the business end of the tournament, when they might be called upon.
In part, Cummins said “strange” tournament rules which don’t allow teams to take their net run rates from the group stage forward to the Super Eights, has taken away incentive that might otherwise have been there to play a full strength team against Scotland.
Essentially the tournament starts again in the Super Eights, and Australia won’t have anything on the points table to show for their sheer dominance in the group.
“It is strange. I don’t know what’s been done in the past, whether it’s been carried through. That’s what I thought it would be until we turned up and worked out that it wasn’t,” Cummins said.
“Obviously you’re trying to win every game but maybe it gives you a chance to manage a few other players in this game where our run rate is less important.”
Mitchell Starc trained strongly and bowled off his full run up for around 40 minutes in St Lucia on Thursday and a sure sign the minor calf complaint that kept him out of the last match is nothing to be concerned about for the Super Eights.
Changes appear likely for Australia against Scotland, it’s more a question of how many.
“I haven’t spoken to the selectors or anyone, so I don’t know what they’re thinking,” Cummins said.
“But I wouldn’t be surprised (if there are changes against Scotland).
“I know going into the start of the tournament, in a perfect world, we’d get a game into just about all the squad members.
“So I wouldn’t be surprised.
“Once they have a look at the wicket and work out match-ups, if a couple of new guys come in.”
Australia destroyed Namibia with a blink-and-you-miss-it 34-ball run-chase in their most recent group match, and Cummins said trying to win as emphatically as possible was important for maintaining momentum in a World Cup.
“I think confidence matters. So maybe you can call that momentum or whatever. When you get into the back end of the tournament, it would be great if every player can look back and see one or two match-winning performances in the last few weeks,” Cummins said.
“I think that helps, I think that gives you confidence.
“If you get knocked around a little bit and you don’t play as well, it can affect you, maybe.
“But it’s more a confidence thing I’d say. You want everyone in form and highly confident heading into the finals.”
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