Australia Captain Pat Cummins returned with 5/38 on Day 1 in Brisbane© AFP
Pat Cummins had a brilliant start to his captaincy career. The right-armed sailor became the first captain since England’s Bob Willis to take five wickets in an Ashes Test in 1982. Cummins took 5 for 38 on Day 1 of the first Ashes Test against England at the Gabba in Brisbane on Wednesday . Cummins, who became Australia’s first full-time fast bowling captain less than a fortnight before the first Test, led from the front after England won the toss and chose to bat first on a Gabba pitch that had much to offer the seamen. Cummins, Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood worked well together as Australia beat England for 147 in just 50.1 overs on day one.
Australia got off to the best possible start as Mitchel Starc cleared England opener Rory Burns in the first ball of the Test match. Josh Hazlewood then joined the party at the other end, ahead of Dawid Malan in the fourth over.
The right-armed sailor punched England as he lined up their captain Joe Root to pack him in without bothering the scorers.
With England reeling after Starc and Hazlewood’s opening blast, Cummins came in to make sure there was no recovery at all. He bounced one of good length to find the outside edge of Ben Stokes’ bat to start his captaincy career the right way.
Pat Cummins becomes the first captain to take a five-wicket-haul in a year #Ash Test since Bob Willis in 1982 ???? pic.twitter.com/pF0F1PYnGj
— ICC (@ICC) Dec 8, 2021
When resuming the second session at 59/4, England immediately got dented when Cummins got the better of lead-off hitter Haseeb Hameed (25) bringing Jos Buttler into the middle. Right-handed Buttler played a counterattack, but his 39-run knock eventually came to an end in the 41st over after being ejected by Mitchell Starc.
“It really was a dream start — it wasn’t a bad pitch to lose and I thought we were all bowling really well and doing our job,” Cummins said.
promoted
“It was a great start to keep them at 150. I was really proud of how consistent and composed everyone was. Personally, it was nice to get a few wickets at the end to make a five for it — it was just a really good start,” he added.
Australia has yet to start their innings as rain and poor light did not allow further play after England were eliminated.
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