Australia skipper Pat Cummins lauded teammates Mitchell Starc and Cameron Green for their bravery as the duo played through pain to help the hosts register a series-clinching victory over South Africa in Boxing-Day Test at MCG on Thursday (December 29).
On Day 1 of the Test match, Starc snapped a tendon in the middle finger of his left hand while fielding. However, the left-arm pacer delivered 18 overs in South Africa’s second innings and also claimed a wicket to script Australia’s victory by an innings and 182 runs.
Green copped a blow on his right index finger by an Anrich Nortje bouncer and was forced to retire on Day 2, but he batted through pain on Day 3 to score an unbeaten half-century.
“(It’s) probably a good time to mention all the incredible achievements this week. Starcy with a finger that’s going to put him out for a few weeks, to have the bravery to go out and do that,” Cummins told reporters. “Cam Green, the same, ‘guts-ing’ it out for us.
“We saw Steve Smith and Davey (Warner) on day two in 38 degrees – gutsy, gutsy innings.
“It just speaks volumes for the team at the moment. Everyone would do anything for each other so we’re in a really good place.”
The Boxing-Day Test win also gave Australia an unassailable 2-0 lead ahead of the third and final match in Sydney. It was a brilliant year for the Australia team in Test cricket, with Cummins’s side winning seven out of 10 matches, including a series win in Pakistan.
Cummins said he was leading a special Australian team.
“Yeah, probably the best test team I’ve played in, just in terms of how well settled everyone is, how well everyone knows their gameplan,” he said.
“In terms of captaining I don’t feel like I have to do much at all. Everyone looks after themselves. You just kind of make sure the buses are on time – which the team manager does.
“It’s just in a really sweet spot at the moment. We know it’s not going to stay like this forever. But I think we can just all kind of sit back and appreciate the place that we are in at the moment because it’s really special.
“We’re having a hell of a lot of fun as well doing it together with some of our best mates.”
(With Reuters inputs)
