Australian cricket captain Pat Cummins has emphasised that while winning consecutive World Test Championship titles would reflect their team’s dominance over the past four years, their 2023 ODI World Cup victory over India remains his career highlight. Speaking ahead of the WTC final against South Africa on June 11, Cummins discussed Australia’s recent successes and team achievements.Australia secured their sixth ODI World Cup title by defeating hosts India in Ahmedabad and claimed their maiden WTC title in the same year. They are now pursuing their second WTC crown under Cummins’ leadership.“The ODI World Cup of 2023 is going to be hard to top, that’s number one for me. Having two maces is a really significant thing to show for that period of time – we feel like we have been the best team in the world across all different conditions and to hold the mace at the end of that would be a great sign of something to point to now but also down the track,” Cummins stated.“The last four years or so have been hugely successful for this group, and it’s been such a great chunk of our careers for players and staff. But I do believe the (World Test Championship) mace is just below that in terms of you’re up against every other team in the world and you’ve been successful for a couple of years to make the final, so the mace means a lot,” he added.
Australia has maintained an undefeated Test series record over the past two years. They won series in New Zealand and Sri Lanka, retained the Ashes in England in 2023, and secured victories against Pakistan and India at home, along with drawing against the West Indies.Quiz: Who’s that IPL player?“It takes a whole army, really. There have been 15-plus players who have played in (the team), but the staff as well who worked hard over that period. You need players across different conditions, different injuries, and the pleasing thing as well is we’ve had quite a few debutants in this cycle who have stepped up and really made a name for themselves,” Cummins explained.The Australian captain highlighted specific memorable matches during their successful run. “The Christchurch victory, with Alex Carey getting 98 not out, we had no right to win that match, but we found a way. And last summer, the MCG was one of the great Test matches – late on day five, out of nowhere, we found a way of winning. When the moments get tense, yeah, there’s a real want for players to stand up and a real trust from others that they will,” he said.
