Cummins, Starc and Hazlewood. (Photo Source: X(Twitter)
Australia and Pakistan are currently playing the first of a three-match Test series in Perth. The pace troika of Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood, and captain Pat Cummins will look to unleash fire on the Pakistani batters, on responsive surfaces, after playing most of their cricket on unfavourable conditions this year.
The three fearsome pacers are good friends off the field and their chemistry reflects on-field as well. They complement each other wonderfully well and have each other’s backs at all times.
“Mitch [Mitchell Starc] and Josh [Hazlewood] (and me) in particular, we’re going to be mates for life. There will be plenty of times when we’re reminiscing, and probably over the years we’ll get better and better in our own mind than what we actually were,” Cummins had told Cricket Australia (CA) on the eve of the first Test.
Starc, Hazlewood, and Cummins have an opportunity to become the most successful pace troika for Australia during the series against Pakistan. The legendary trio of Glenn McGrath, Brett Lee, and Jason Gillespie played 22 Tests together, winning 15 of them. On the other hand, Cummins and Co. have 14 wins out of the 25 Tests they have played in unison. Therefore, they could equal the tally of McGrath and Co. with a win in Perth and potentially surpass it during the subsequent games in Melbourne and Sydney.
The McGrath-led side never lost a Test match on home soil and that is something that will set them apart. However, the current lot has had more success across formats. While McGrath was a part of three ODI World Cup wins, Lee and Gillespie won only once in 2003. Cummins and Co. have won the coveted title on a couple of occasions (2015 and 2023). They also won the T20 World Cup in 2021. However, McGrath, Lee, and Gillespie didn’t play a T20 World Cup during their time.
“There were some special moments, some special group photos afterward (the 2023 win) that when you put side-by-side with 2015, the T20 World Cup a few years ago, the World Test Championship – it does give you that moment of reflection. You realise we’ve been able to achieve some pretty cool stuff together,” Cummins said.
Cummins, Starc, and Hazlewood have a combined tally of 306 wickets after playing 25 Tests, at an average of 26.75 and a strike rate of 52.68. Meanwhile, the elder group finished with 243 wickets from 22 Tests, at an average of 28.47 and a strike rate of 55.51.
Australia played a couple of Test series this year in India and England. While the pitches in India were mostly conducive to spin-bowling, the surfaces in England were on the flatter side and didn’t offer much to the bowlers. Cummins expressed his excitement at the prospect of bowling in Perth, which is known for its pace and bounce, during the first Test against Pakistan.
“Very excited out here. It’s a bit more in our favour the last few summers here in Australia, than perhaps England or India. We love playing over here. Even someone like Nathan Lyon – it’s not traditionally a spin friendly ground – (but) his record’s great (in Perth), he loves bowling on the bouncy wickets,” the all-rounder stated.
“These are the wickets that we’ve grown up on, that we’ve played for a decade on. We know them really well. We know what works and it’s always nice when it flings out of your hand and you see the pace and bounce,” Cummins concluded.