Australia captain Pat Cummins revealed that he was "really angry" after being forced to miss the second Test of the ongoing Ashes 2021-22 against England as he was identified as being in close contact with a COVID-19 positive person at a restaurant in Adelaide.
The pacer further said that he didn't know how to channelize his anger after a fellow diner turned out to be COVID-19 positive, which forced him to miss Australia’s 275-run win over England in the day-night Test in Adelaide to take a 2-0 lead in the ongoing five-match Ashes series.
However, he has now joined the side and is ready to captain Australia in the Boxing Day Test at Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), Melbourne on Sunday (December 26).
Cummins told “West Australian”: “I (was) really angry - but I don't know who at. There was no one to blame. Once it became apparent, the state rules, you have to follow them.”
However, the skipper had tested negative after a RT-PCR, but was forced to isolate as per the COVID rules in South Australia. The 28-year-old said on missing the first Test at home after 5 years, “We knew it might pop at some stage in this series. I didn't think - or hope - it was going to be me.”
He added, “You abide by the protocols, but there (was) hardly any Covid around, so I didn't factor it in at all until the bloke popped up next to me and said he's positive. No one did anything wrong. The poor guy just flew to Adelaide to try and enjoy a couple of days of cricket - I felt really bad for him as well.”
Cummins further revealed that Mitchell Starc and Nathan Lyon would have also missed the third Ashes Test, as they were supposed to join him for dinner at the same restaurant, but he couldn’t check his phone for 40 minutes, and they could not meet and eventually went out to have dinner separately.
He said, “They (Starc and Lyon) walked in angry - they kicked up a stink and sat out the back. It's just one player, it's slightly bigger news because it's Covid and the captain, but it's not the end of the world, it's not a huge change.”
The skipper also revealed that he felt angry again once he saw the test match unfold on TV. Cummins signed off by saying, “Then after about an hour (of watching the Test on TV) I was pretty angry, I wished I was back out there. But it was good. It was a different perspective.”
