Australia captain Pat Cummins said that the World Test Championship final against South Africa was a good advertisement for Test cricket, despite a likely finish within three days of the start as well. However, 28 wickets fell across the first two days at Lord’s. Fast bowler Cummins also played a key role by taking a superb 6-28 on Thursday’s second day to reach the milestone of 300 Test wickets as well.
Meanwhile, batters on both sides struggled for runs, an eighth-wicket partnership of 61 between Alex Carey (43) and Mitchell Starc (16 not out) helped Australia reach stumps on 144-8 in their second innings, a lead of 218 with two wickets in hand as well.
“It’s set up pretty well,” Cummins told reporters. “The mood in the changing room is pretty positive. It was a great partnership and a good way to end the day. After two days it’s pretty close to 50-50. It’s a pretty good Test match. Some blokes have got themselves in and looked comfortable out there, but a lot of other guys haven’t. Both teams have bowled really well, really disciplined. There haven’t been many half-volleys. The trend of the game is that the runs are coming down. It’s still pretty difficult out there, but we will have to bowl well tomorrow.”
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However, Pat Cummins achieved a feat as he took 300 Test wickets — something he described as “pretty cool” — at an average of 22.08. With this, Cummins became just the eighth Australian bowler to reach the landmark.
He added, “There’s not too many on that list. It’s something I’ve always thought about. It’s a pretty good sign of durability and longevity.”
Meanwhile, David Bedingham, who top-scored for South Africa with 45, agreed with Pat Cummins about the help batters are getting from the pitch. However, he also said that they are confident of a successful run chase as well.
“It’s a fairly tricky pitch, but I think when you have six quality seamers on a tricky pitch it obviously makes batting tough. It is an amazing chance and we are very excited about the opportunity to win. It could go either way but there is a lot of belief. I think the pitch is slowing down a bit and maybe in the fourth innings it will go a bit straighter. Hopefully, we can get those runs,” he concluded.
