Pat Cummins, who registered first victory as Australia’s Test captain, and grabbed seven wickets during the match hailed his Australia teammates for sticking to the plans till the last day.
“I really enjoyed it, a lot of things did go right, probably from the toss – overcast conditions, wicket had a bit in it, turn up day two and it’s blue skies. So someone was smiling on me,” Cummins said in the post-match presentation ceremony.
“Really proud of everyone, complete performance, the bowlers did their thing on Day 1, then Marnus (Labuschagne) and Davey’s (David Warner) partnership. Then the way Travis (Head) played, I think that is a real blueprint for him. It’s the sign of a positive, brave side,” he said.
Australia bowled England out for 147 runs before scoring 425 runs for the second wicket, with Warner and Labuschagne putting up a 156-run stand. Travis Head, who hit 152 off 148 balls and was named player of the match, gave them a boost in the second half of the innings.
Australia bowled England out for 147 runs before scoring 425 runs for the second wicket, with Warner and Labuschagne putting up a 156-run stand. Travis Head, who smashed 152 off 148 balls and was named player of the match, provided his side a boost in the second half of the innings.
“That’s why we want him in the side, he can take a game away in a couple of hours. He showed what he can do, bright future, hopefully he’s away now,” said Cummins.
On Day 3, England showed a decent fightback, with captain Joe Root and Dawid Malan standing tall till the third session of the day.
On Saturday, they started with a 159-run partnership, but they could only add three more runs before spinner Nathan Lyon broke the stand by removing Malan for his 400th Test wicket.
“I was really happy about how everyone stuck to it, we bowled without luck yesterday, which is probably considering the amount of luck we got on Day 2. Everyone turned up positive and not thinking about too much other than trying to get that breakthrough,” said Cummins.
