Pat Cummins is on the verge of an undesirable 118-year first as an Australian Test captain.
Only this time even his harshest critics cannot lay into the 30-year-old.
It includes the toss. Cummins is seemingly not superb at calling accurately.
In 4 Tests on this Ashes sequence, Cummins known as tails. And on all 4 events heads received.
Another loss at The Oval in Thursday’s sequence finale would mark the primary time an Australian captain has misplaced all 5 tosses in a five-Test sequence since Joe Darling in 1905.
Darling’s shedding run in 1905 got here after he broke a time-honoured custom within the first Test, tossing his personal coin as touring captain, and misplaced.
By the top of the tour England believed karma had come again to chunk Darling.
But Cummins will not change a factor come Thursday morning. There will probably be no trickery, or perhaps a change of coronary heart to name heads.
“There’s been a lot of talk about it,” Cummins quipped.
“Tosses are meant to be 50-50 but it’s amazing how people have theories on it.
“l’ll follow tails I feel.
“It would be courageous switching. … I think I’m sticking with tails.”
Cummins’ toss file is even worse when contemplating he additionally misplaced the toss within the World Test Championship ultimate to India at The Oval final month.
But it additionally serves as an indication of the challenges Australia have confronted whereas nonetheless 2-1 up within the sequence with one Test to play.
Of the 18 Test sequence in historical past when a workforce had misplaced 5 coin tosses, solely twice has the unfortunate facet managed to win the sequence.
That was in dour 1-0 Ashes sequence wins to England in 1953 and 1978-79.
Australia have routinely batted by the hardest circumstances on this Ashes sequence, with the ball shifting way more below cloudy overheads in England.
England’s desire to bowl first in the event that they win the toss will probably be essential at The Oval with rain forecast within the hours earlier than the match, making this name much more essential for Cummins if Australia are to win the Ashes.
Source: www.perthnow.com.au
