Captain cool Cummins leads the way in Australian cricket's trophy-laden year

After the loss to Australia in the second Test in Melbourne, Pakistan team director Mohammad Hafeez said they were the better team on the field. When asked about that, Australia captain Pat Cummins said it was all "cool" and a win was all that mattered to him.

Australia's opponents in the World Cup final - India - and in the Ashes - England - would have felt they played better cricket throughout the series but it was Australia, led by Cummins, who won it all this year.

It was a year to remember for Cummins in particular. Critics especially in Australia mostly were not convinced with the captaincy of the fast bowler. 

Former Victoria captain Darren Berry slammed Cummins' short-ball ploy during the Ashes and went on to say that the pacer would step down as captain at the end of the series.

But that did not happen. Australia managed to retain the Ashes despite playing less attractive cricket than England according to many. 

Just months after Berry's scathing criticism, Ricky Ponting, widely regarded as one of the greatest captains of all-time, said Cummins' leadership was "almost faultless" in the all-important World Cup final against India.

It was a big year for Cummins the cricketer as well. He won Australia several matches with his batting which is not his primary role. 

He made a decisive 44* off 73 balls in the first Ashes Test when Australia looked down and out. Cummins' cameo of 37 off just 14 in a key World Cup clash against New Zealand in Dharamsala in which Australia won narrowly by five runs. 

The Australia captain played a contrasting knock just days later in a famous game against Afghanistan. Glenn Maxwell played one of the greatest ODI knocks ever in that match but Cummins' uncharacteristic 12* off 68 to occupy one end was highly important as well.

He has been a workhorse for Australia with the ball. A fast bowler who missed years of cricket due to injury, Cummins bowled 427.4 overs across formats this year, comfortably the most by a pacer in 2023. His tally of 59 wickets in the year is the second-highest for Australia. 

His skill to hit the deck hard makes him a genuine wicket-taker especially when they are hard to come by. Australia's World Cup clash with Sri Lanka can be used as an example here.

Australia went into the game on the back of two losses and many had already written them off. Batting first, the Asian side were off to the best possible start with openers Pathum Nissanka and Kusal Perera going great guns. 

Cummins broke the 125-run opening stand with a short ball to send back Nissanka and got Perera out bowled with a nip-backer in the same spell. From 125-0, Sri Lanka were bowled out for a mere 209.

The fast bowler capped the year with a ten-wicket haul and led Australia to a series victory against Pakistan which seemed unlikely at one point. Cummins starred in the first innings as well but the second-innings burst sealed the match for the hosts.

Salman Ali Agha and Mohammad Rizwan stuck together and brought the target down to less than 100 and a Pakistan win seemed on the cards. But Cummins bowled a sensational spell to eke out three wickets, including that of Rizwan (of course with a short ball), to take his side close to victory. 

The way he wholeheartedly supported Usman Khawaja after the batter wanted to raise his voice against the "Gaza massacre" earned praise as well.

Towards the end of the year, Cummins struck gold in the auction ahead of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 after Sunrisers Hyderabad roped him in for INR 20.5 crore. 

Now the whole of Australia is convinced that Cummins is the right man to lead Australia. Berry, who was critical of Cummins, said on Friday that he was "so happy to eat his words". 

Cummins said before the World Cup final that there was nothing like silencing a big home crowd. With a stellar performance, he silenced the capacity crowd at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad and also the critics back home who doubted his leadership credentials.