Former Australia captain Ian Chappell spoke on how Pat Cummins; dismissal of Babar Azam at the MCG Test reminded him of legendary fast-bowler Dennis Lillee and his greatness with the ball.
Australia clinched the Test series with an intense second Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, where Australia, led by their spirited leader Cummins, bamboozled and bolwed out opponents Pakistan for 237 runs, clinching the victory by 79 runs in the fourth day.
At the MCG where Cummins ran riot with a fantastic ten-wicket haul in the second Test, talisman Pakistan batter Babar Azam was left speechless from a delivery that hit the top of off-stump in Pakistan’s first innings, which the Australia skipper later described as a ‘dream ball’.
Cummins’ ten-wicket haul also made him the second Australia captain after Allan Border to achieve the celebrated feat.
“As Australia captain Pat Cummins cleverly dissected the Pakistan batting line-up to bring his team a tough victory in the second Test, I thought: what does it take to amass Test victims – lots of them?
“I liken Cummins to the great former Australia fast bowler Dennis Lillee in both inspirational qualities and heart size. Lillee wanted to get batters out, to have their number. He says, ‘Fast bowling is a mental job as well as a physical one’. At the top of his mark, Lillee envisioned the ball flying through to keeper Rod Marsh, who’d take the delivery at head height standing back. That’s what Lillee means when he talks about the mental side of fast bowling.”
“The spectacular delivery that Cummins produced to bowl Pakistan’s Babar Azam – dismissing the opposition’s best batter once again – reminded me of Lillee’s greatness. Like Lillee, Cummins wanted Babar out,” wrote Chappell in his column for ESPNCricinfo.
Lille then spoke to not just the need for a expansive skillset but the mental toughness that is required for players like Cummins and Lille to thrive and be great.
“It’s also when you need every bit of the mental fortitude that Lillee speaks about and Cummins exudes. Wickets are important. Just ask Cummins.”
“One of Lillee’s great traits was that a batter had to overcome his enormous skill first, which was no easy feat. However, if he achieved that difficult task, he still had to outlast his iron will, which took a monumental effort.
“On those hot, demanding days, give me a Lillee- or a Cummins-style character who cares only about not giving in and taking wickets rather than how the process feels. That’s why great fast bowlers like Lillee and Cummins are a captain’s dream and a batter’s nightmare.
(with inputs from agencies)
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