Top 3 Test Performances By Pat Cummins

image-lqurol5gPat Cummins against India in March 2023 (AP)

Pat Cummins’ ascent as a world-conqueror embodies an unparalleled blend of skill, leadership, and enduring impact in Australian cricket. Making his Test debut at a tender age of 18 in South Africa, the speedster packed a remarkable all-round performance to signal his arrival to the big stage back in 2011 itself.

Ever since he unpacked his match-winning spectacle at Johannesburg, Cummins has gone on to become a cornerstone figure in Australia’s illustrious cricketing history. His stellar contributions with the ball, and at times with the bat, have been duly recognized, culminating in the honor of leading the Australian team as its captain.

Celebrating the remarkable trajectory of Pat Cummins’ career, here at OneCricket, we look back at three of his best bowling performances in Tests, from his November 2011 debut until his ‘Boxing Day’ appearance against Pakistan in December 2023.


Top 3 Bowling Performance by Pat Cummins in Tests:

1. 6-79 against South Africa, Johannesburg, 2011

image-lqurq33zPat Cummins in his debut Test match in 2011 (x.com)

With an aim to shrug off their eight-wicket drubbing to South Africa in Cape Town, Australia handed Pat Cummins his first Test cap for the series-deciding second match in Johannesburg in November 2011. Making his debut at the age of 18 years and 193 days in the game made him the youngest player in nearly 60 years to play Test cricket for Australia.

Sharing the new ball with Mitchell Johnson, Cummins trapped dangerman Hashim Amla within the opening day to bag the first of his many Test wickets. Concluding his spell with figures of 1-38 in 15 overs, the speedster snared six more South African victims in the second innings, including that of middle-order stalwarts Jacques Kallis and AB de Villiers.

The 18-year-old demolished the South African tail with late bursts to finish with then career-best figures of 6-79 from 29 overs. Cummins’ match-winning six-fer also made him the second youngest cricketer in Test history to take six wickets in an innings, and his spell restricted the hosts to 339, thus setting up a 310-run fourth innings target for Australia.

Emboldened by his match-defining spell, the youngster belted 13 tense unbeaten runs to pull off a sensational series-levelling run-chase for his country, thus capping his debut with a remarkable ‘Player of the Match’ award.


2. 6-91 against England, Leeds, 2023

image-lqusj4y9Pat Cummins celebrating Joe Root's downfall during 2023 Ashes (x.com)

Pat Cummins, after leading Australia to emphatic wins at Edgbaston and Lord’s in the first two Tests, further fortified his country’s dominance at Headingley in the third match of the 2023 Ashes against England.

With Australia folding up for just 263 in two sessions of the opening day, Cummins ensured England did not reached stumps with the upper hand as he struck twice with the new-ball to swiftly remove Ben Duckett and Harry Brook in quick succession. The cricketer also claimed four more wickets the following morning, including that of senior Englishman Joe Root for the 11th time in his career. By the time he was done with his spell, Cummins had figures of 6-91 to brag out, as the hosts crumbled for just 237 to concede a handy 26-run first innings lead to the Australians.

Unfortunately for Cummins and Australia, his sizzling efforts were overshadowed by the collective brilliance of English pacers, with Mark Wood bagging the ‘Player of the Match’ award for leading his country to a close three-wicket win on the fourth afternoon.


3. 6-27 against India, Melbourne, 2018

image-lqusjzadPat Cummins celebrating his six-fer against India in December 2018 (x.com)

Only 14-Test old at the time, Pat Cummins emerged as the Lonewolf of Australia’s bowling during their torrid home series against a famed Indian line-up in late 2018. Turning up for his country at the iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) in their must-win game, the speedster toiled hard for his three-wicket haul in the first innings, as India amassed 443-7d to mount a colossal 292-run first innings lead.

India commenced their second innings late on Day 3, and extended their lead further past the 300-run mark without any casualty. Defying all logic and expectations, Cummins induced absolute mayhem by wrecking India’s entire top-order at the blink of an eye.

The prodigious pace talent snared four Indian wickets in the space of just eight deliveries to signal Australia’s brief fightback in the game. As part of his eight-ball burst, he even removed batting heavyweights Cheteshwar Pujara and Virat Kohli for ducks, and later returned to dismiss Ravindra Jadeja and well-set opener Mayank Agarwal to finish with astonishing figures of 6-27.

Despite all his hard work, Australia’s first innings debacle with both bat and ball tendered his impact fruitless as they fell 137 runs short of the visitors to go 1-2 down in the four-match series.