Cummins reaches milestone in WTC final masterclass
Pat Cummins has become the eighth Australian to take 300 Test wickets after demolishing South Africa in the World Test Championship final at Lord's.
Australia have secured a first-innings lead of 74, skittling the Proteas for 138 midway through the second session of day two on Thursday.
The evergreen fast-bowling machine of Cummins, Josh Hazlewood, and Mitchell Starc proved no match for South Africa, who ended the WTC cycle on top of the table.
While Starc started the destruction on Wednesday evening, Cummins (6-28) was relentless in finishing the job.
It was the 14th five-wicket haul of Cummins' brilliant 68-Test career.
The first fast-bowler to captain Australia long-term, Cummins joins the country's greats in reaching 300 wickets.
Shane Warne (708 wickets) and Glenn McGrath (563) sit one and two, while Cummins' teammates Nathan Lyon (553) and Mitchell Starc (384) are next in line.
Dennis Lillee (355), Mitchell Johnson (313) and Brett Lee (310) are the others to take more than 300.
Out of those eight players, only McGrath has a better average (21.64) than Cummins (22.08).
The 32-year-old also becomes the first captain since England's Bob Willis in 1982 to take a five-wicket haul at Lord's.
One of Cummins' six victims was Kyle Verreynne, who had to go after being trapped lbw.
As Cummins was appealing, he and Verreynne collided with each other and tumbled over.
The umpire gave the South Africa wicketkeeper not out, but Cummins successfully appealed.
Starting day two in serious trouble at 4-43, the Proteas were able to frustrate Australia's star-studded bowling attack in the first session and move to 5-121 at lunch in pursuit of 212.
But Cummins inspired a collapse of 5-12 to put Australia in pole position to defend the WTC title they won in 2023.
David Bedingham (45) top scored for South Africa, while Proteas captain Temba Bavuma survived a controversial DRS decision.
Adjudged lbw on 16 off Josh Hazlewood, Bavuma left it late to review, but eventually took the decision upstairs with four seconds remaining.
The ball would have been smashing into the stumps, but a spike on snicko incredibly meant Bavuma had survived.
Former England captain Alastair Cook said during radio commentary he didn't believe Bavuma had hit it.
But after looking promising, highlighted by smashing opposing captain Cummins for six, Bavuma (36) scooped a drive to cover where Marnus Labuschagne pulled off a terrific diving catch.
South Africa, who won seven-straight Tests to qualify for the final, are attempting to break a title drought in ICC tournaments dating back to 1998.
This AAP article was made possible by support from Amazon Prime Video, which is broadcasting the World Test Championship final.
Pat Cummins has become the eighth Australian to take 300 Test wickets after demolishing South Africa in the World Test Championship final at Lord's.
Australia have secured a first-innings lead of 74, skittling the Proteas for 138 midway through the second session of day two on Thursday.
The evergreen fast-bowling machine of Cummins, Josh Hazlewood, and Mitchell Starc proved no match for South Africa, who ended the WTC cycle on top of the table.
While Starc started the destruction on Wednesday evening, Cummins (6-28) was relentless in finishing the job.
It was the 14th five-wicket haul of Cummins' brilliant 68-Test career.
The first fast-bowler to captain Australia long-term, Cummins joins the country's greats in reaching 300 wickets.
Shane Warne (708 wickets) and Glenn McGrath (563) sit one and two, while Cummins' teammates Nathan Lyon (553) and Mitchell Starc (384) are next in line.
Dennis Lillee (355), Mitchell Johnson (313) and Brett Lee (310) are the others to take more than 300.
Out of those eight players, only McGrath has a better average (21.64) than Cummins (22.08).
The 32-year-old also becomes the first captain since England's Bob Willis in 1982 to take a five-wicket haul at Lord's.
One of Cummins' six victims was Kyle Verreynne, who had to go after being trapped lbw.
As Cummins was appealing, he and Verreynne collided with each other and tumbled over.
The umpire gave the South Africa wicketkeeper not out, but Cummins successfully appealed.
Starting day two in serious trouble at 4-43, the Proteas were able to frustrate Australia's star-studded bowling attack in the first session and move to 5-121 at lunch in pursuit of 212.
But Cummins inspired a collapse of 5-12 to put Australia in pole position to defend the WTC title they won in 2023.
David Bedingham (45) top scored for South Africa, while Proteas captain Temba Bavuma survived a controversial DRS decision.
Adjudged lbw on 16 off Josh Hazlewood, Bavuma left it late to review, but eventually took the decision upstairs with four seconds remaining.
The ball would have been smashing into the stumps, but a spike on snicko incredibly meant Bavuma had survived.
Former England captain Alastair Cook said during radio commentary he didn't believe Bavuma had hit it.
But after looking promising, highlighted by smashing opposing captain Cummins for six, Bavuma (36) scooped a drive to cover where Marnus Labuschagne pulled off a terrific diving catch.
South Africa, who won seven-straight Tests to qualify for the final, are attempting to break a title drought in ICC tournaments dating back to 1998.
This AAP article was made possible by support from Amazon Prime Video, which is broadcasting the World Test Championship final.
Pat Cummins has become the eighth Australian to take 300 Test wickets after demolishing South Africa in the World Test Championship final at Lord's.
Australia have secured a first-innings lead of 74, skittling the Proteas for 138 midway through the second session of day two on Thursday.
The evergreen fast-bowling machine of Cummins, Josh Hazlewood, and Mitchell Starc proved no match for South Africa, who ended the WTC cycle on top of the table.
While Starc started the destruction on Wednesday evening, Cummins (6-28) was relentless in finishing the job.
It was the 14th five-wicket haul of Cummins' brilliant 68-Test career.
The first fast-bowler to captain Australia long-term, Cummins joins the country's greats in reaching 300 wickets.
Shane Warne (708 wickets) and Glenn McGrath (563) sit one and two, while Cummins' teammates Nathan Lyon (553) and Mitchell Starc (384) are next in line.
Dennis Lillee (355), Mitchell Johnson (313) and Brett Lee (310) are the others to take more than 300.
Out of those eight players, only McGrath has a better average (21.64) than Cummins (22.08).
The 32-year-old also becomes the first captain since England's Bob Willis in 1982 to take a five-wicket haul at Lord's.
One of Cummins' six victims was Kyle Verreynne, who had to go after being trapped lbw.
As Cummins was appealing, he and Verreynne collided with each other and tumbled over.
The umpire gave the South Africa wicketkeeper not out, but Cummins successfully appealed.
Starting day two in serious trouble at 4-43, the Proteas were able to frustrate Australia's star-studded bowling attack in the first session and move to 5-121 at lunch in pursuit of 212.
But Cummins inspired a collapse of 5-12 to put Australia in pole position to defend the WTC title they won in 2023.
David Bedingham (45) top scored for South Africa, while Proteas captain Temba Bavuma survived a controversial DRS decision.
Adjudged lbw on 16 off Josh Hazlewood, Bavuma left it late to review, but eventually took the decision upstairs with four seconds remaining.
The ball would have been smashing into the stumps, but a spike on snicko incredibly meant Bavuma had survived.
Former England captain Alastair Cook said during radio commentary he didn't believe Bavuma had hit it.
But after looking promising, highlighted by smashing opposing captain Cummins for six, Bavuma (36) scooped a drive to cover where Marnus Labuschagne pulled off a terrific diving catch.
South Africa, who won seven-straight Tests to qualify for the final, are attempting to break a title drought in ICC tournaments dating back to 1998.
This AAP article was made possible by support from Amazon Prime Video, which is broadcasting the World Test Championship final.
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