Pat Cummins concedes change coming after second Test thrashing
Gqeberha: Australia’s captain Pat Cummins has admitted his team were uncompetitive in a humiliating innings defeat to South Africa at St George’s Park, and conceded the selectors will consider the positions of several players for the series decider in Cape Town.
Cummins did not shy away from the prospect of multiple changes, after a hiding by the Proteas that will rank highly among the poorest displays of his captaincy, even acknowledging Vernon Philander’s claim that the day four batting had been “gutless” in losing 13 wickets in a day.
Travis Head’s century and Scott Boland’s admirable 166-ball defiance stood in sharp contrast to a litany of unwise shots from others, leading to defeat in little more than three full days of play after having the hosts 6-110 early on the third day.
“Disappointment for sure. I think we were nowhere near our best, across the board really. Clearly need to be a lot better than that. We want to compete,” Cummins said. “I think you’ve got to find a way in Test cricket. It’s not always going to be easy.
“You saw today with Travis and Scotty, sometimes it’s going to be about getting through the tough spells, sticking to your method, and I think we went away from that on day four. A couple [of] loose shots when we could have hung around and kind of waited to get the game to come to us a little bit more.”
Nic Maddinson, Beau Webster and Marnus Labuschagne are the trio most squarely under the selectors’ microscope, as all looked either outclassed or unable to lock into a Test match batting rhythm. Labuschagne’s recent sequence of scores between 10 and 50 has been particularly damaging to the team because players making starts are expected to make the most of them.
“I think the hardest thing about opening or batting three is actually getting yourself in,” Cummins said of Labuschagne. “Ball’s normally doing a fair bit. You’ve got fresh bowlers, and he’s actually doing the hard bit. He’s getting to 30s. I think he’s got to find a way to turn those into bigger scores.
“You know, 30s aren’t going to win you too many matches, but yeah, I don’t think … it’s certainly not a technique error. It’s maybe a couple of decision makings, some decisions that you know maybe the game demanded something a little bit differently. So again, we’ll work on that on the next couple [of] days.”
More widely, Cummins said he and the selectors needed to decide whether it was time to stop persisting with some members of the team. The decision to jettison Jake Weatherald after the first Test against Bangladesh in Darwin now looks a harsh one given Maddinson’s returns, while Cameron Green and Josh Inglis will join Cooper Connolly in pushing for inclusion.
“That’s the challenge. It’s not a perfect science,” Cummins said. “Do you give someone one more game, or do you feel like now is the right time to make a move? So that’s what will be spoken about over the next few days. I think we will probably have Cam Green and Josh Inglis available for next week.
“It’s looking like that, so I’m sure … their names will get thrown around as well when we try and work out 11. But it’s always that delicate balance. Does it feel like someone’s just about to turn the corner, and they’re going to be away, or does it now feel like the right time for a change-up?”
One change that will be weighed up is Nathan Lyon’s return. Cummins looked agonised when asked about Boland’s place in the team having been by far the team’s best contributor this week, while Josh Hazlewood may need rest after his battles with illness during the game.
“It’s a good question. I don’t think you can do much more,” Cummins said of Boland. “I mean, five-for, pick of the bowlers. You know how gritty he was with this batting innings. Even put his hand up on day three to go and be nightwatchman after he just bowled 20 overs in a day.
“I couldn’t love that bloke any more. He’s such a champion. So again, we’ll get to Cape Town. We’ll have a look, see how everyone pulls up, all those things. But he had a fantastic week.”
As for Lyon, Cummins said he would be closely considered after accepting his demotion with more equanimity than previously.
“I don’t think it’s any secret that he’s not too happy when he’s not playing. But I think he understands. So he was great. He’s a big boy. Accepts it. No worries,” Cummins said. “I think the other layer to it is that you saw the first two days here, big clouds. It felt like spin wasn’t going to play much part in the first half of the game, and it didn’t really play much part in the second.
“And you’re talking about Scotty Boland, who he’s coming up against. So I think those factors all matter. We’ll get there [to Cape Town], we’ll talk about conditions, how people are tracking, what we think, you know, how the game’s going to pan out, and like every Test, his name will be front and centre.”
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Daniel Brettig is The Age’s chief cricket writer and the author of several books on cricket.Connect via X.