It wasn’t just a storm, it felt like a tempest. There was debris flying in from everywhere. Plastic wrappers, pieces of tarpaulin, plastic bags and even what looked like one of those giant cardboard promotional hoardings. Over on the eastern side of the ground, a couple of banners had collapsed bringing with it the metal poles holding them together. Fortunately, they evaded the hundreds of spectators huddled up underneath.
It was a bizarre period of play, where the Australian fielders understandably concerned for the fans kept turning around to see if everyone was safe. The dastardly wind soon gave rise to a dust storm as the Sri Lankan innings continued to collapse. The loudspeakers around the ground were going off ordering the fans to make their way to the upper levels for their own safety. The cricket still somehow continued.
The umpires did have to eventually pause play briefly though. By now of course even the sight-screen seemed to be rattling away. And for a moment, it felt like they would take the players off the field. It wasn’t to be, and Australia anyway needed just a few more deliveries to end the Sri Lankan innings.
Long before nature turned on Lucknow in all its fury late on Monday (October 16) evening though, Pat Cummins the captain was already in the eye of the storm. But Pat Cummins the captain always seems to be in the eye of the storm. Only that morning, there were rumours that he will drop himself from the team for this crucial match. Only that morning, there were some broadcasters quizzing you on whether Cummins really feels the hurt of losing just because he doesn’t go around expressing his obvious disappointment in a way they want him to. Others simply criticize Pat Cummins the captain because he cares about the environment when he’s not sharing his perspective on things that should matter to all of us.
It’s often got nothing to do with what he’s actually doing on the field. But as Cummins brought himself back for his second spell in the 22nd over of Sri Lanka’s innings, Australia needed him to do something special on the field. Australia had started their third match of the World Cup in a pretty similar fashion to the first two, seemingly low on energy and looking a tad desperate for things to go their way.
There was the retrospectively ridiculous lbw review from the first ball of the innings as Mitchell Starc’s in-swinger crashed into the inside edge of Pathum Nissanka’s bat. There were a few unexpected fumbles on the field, even Marnus Labuschagne and David Warner being guilty of them, in the early going. Josh Hazlewood wasn’t looking at his best either while Adam Zampa’s first few overs were both loose and expensive. Even Cummins had shrugged his shoulders once in his first spell, as rare as it is to witness, after having bowled a long hop that Nissanka happily scythed away through point for a boundary. Sri Lanka were soaring. Their opening partnership was 125 and the scoring rate was nearly at 6-an-over. Australia needed an intervention. And it had to be Cummins to provide that. Nissanka had pulled him for four in front of square, of the third delivery of this spell. The short ball had sat up with no venom. The next delivery Cummins charged in with more purpose. There was an extra bounce in his step. There was intensity in his eyes. And the short ball this time rose at the diminutive Sri Lankan opener, hit him higher on the bat, getting a top-edge before Warner took his first of two spectacular catches in the deep. Australia finally had their first breakthrough.
Only two overs later, came Cummins’ second and more significant moment of inspiration. This time the batter was the well-set Kusal Perera, who looked to be enroute to a famous century. The Australian captain had decided to change the angle of attack, coming around the wicket for the first time to the left-hander. And the move worked immediately as Perera poked at a length delivery that had some work put on it by Cummins middle finger, and burst through the gap between his bat and pads to crash into his stumps. Cummins celebrated the wicket with more gusto than you generally see from him.
Warner was to provide the next bout of inspiration by putting his body on the line on the boundary to get rid of Kusal Mendis. He seemed more clued in than he has been in a long time, even making sure he was rushing back to the boundary, even as the Aussies waited for the verdict of a DRS call on Sadeera Samarawickrama’s lbw decision, to make sure they don’t lag in terms of over rates. Australia had finally found their energy. They’d finally rediscovered their snarl. They were now hunting in a pack like only they could. The rain came and went but their energy levels stayed the same. And it was Cummins once more to provide yet another spark, this time in the field with a brilliant pick up and direct hit from mid-off to catch Dunith Wellalage short of his crease. The celebration wasn’t as over the top this time but it brought the rest of the team together in the kind of energetic huddle that has been missing in this tournament so far. At the other end, much like the rest of the team, Adam Zampa had found his rhythm too and it was he who tore through the lower-order to finish the Sri Lankans off.
Australia would eventually chase their paltry target of 210 down with plenty of overs to spare and five wickets in hand. Perhaps they would have liked to have got there in a less stressful fashion. Maybe preferred Mitch Marsh or Warner to carry them through with little damage in terms of wickets. But it wasn’t to be. In a way though, with still a long way to go in this World Cup, getting the likes of Josh Inglis and Glenn Maxwell some valuable time in the middle, doing what both of them do best respectively. And in a game that Australia were expected to win, they’d take comfort in also having ticked a few important boxes, from both middle over wickets to middle order runs. Even if this neither guarantees them going all the way in this tournament or sees them struggle to get over the line against the better teams they are yet to face.
But at least in the 45 minutes or so, where Cummins held court at the Ekana Stadium in Lucknow, not only did he look the storm in the eye, he also quelled it and along with it many of those who just can’t stop picking on him.