Pat Cummins: Australia's Test Captain, ICC World Test Championship 2023, and the No. 1 Test Bowler
Pat Cummins was appointed Australia's Test captain in November 2021, becoming Australia's first specialist pace bowler to captain the Test team since Ray Lindwall (1954). He led Australia to: the 2021–22 Ashes (won 4–0), the 2023 WTC final title (beat India by 209 runs), and the 2023 ICC ODI World Cup title (beat India by 6 wickets). He has been ranked No. 1 in ICC Test bowling rankings since 2021 and held the ranking for the longest consecutive period since Glenn McGrath (1999–2005).
Pat Cummins became Australia's Test captain in November 2021 — appointed after Tim Paine resigned following a sexting scandal. Cummins was the first specialist fast bowler to captain Australia's Test team since Ray Lindwall in 1954. He became the first captain to win the Ashes, the WTC, and the ODI World Cup in a 12-month period — the trifecta of major cricket titles.
The Trifecta of Titles
Cummins's captaincy record is exceptional: 2021–22 Ashes: Australia beat England 4–0 (England's heaviest Ashes defeat in Australia since 2006–07). WTC 2023 final: Australia beat India by 209 runs at The Oval, London (Travis Head's 163 off 174 balls). 2023 ODI World Cup: Australia beat India by 6 wickets in the final at Ahmedabad (Travis Head again, 137 off 120 balls). Head's twin match-winning performances under Cummins's captaincy make the 2022–23 period the most successful in Australian cricket since Ponting's era.
Bowling Excellence
Cummins holds the ICC Test No. 1 bowling ranking and has done so consecutively since 2021. He averages approximately 22 in Tests — outstanding for a high-volume bowler in an era of flat pitches. He bowls at 140–145 km/h with exceptional accuracy and can reverse the old ball. With Josh Hazlewood (complementary accuracy) and Mitchell Starc (left-arm swing), Australia's pace attack from 2015–2024 is considered the best since the McGrath-Lee-Gillespie trio of the 2000s.
Frequently asked questions
What makes Australia's pace bowling trio of Cummins, Starc, and Hazlewood so effective in Tests, and how does it compare to historical great bowling attacks?
Australia's pace trio (Cummins-Starc-Hazlewood): analysis and historical comparison. Cummins-Starc-Hazlewood represent three distinct skills that complement each other perfectly. Pat Cummins (right-arm, accuracy + seam): averages 22 in Tests. Bowls at 140–145 km/h. Gets wickets in all conditions. His accuracy creates pressure from one end even when conditions don't assist swing. Mitchell Starc (left-arm, swing + yorker): averages 27 in Tests but delivers match-winning spells (27 WC wickets in one tournament). The left-arm angle creates an additional challenge for right-handed batters. Josh Hazlewood (right-arm, relentless accuracy): averages 26 in Tests. Particularly effective in Australia's conditions (carries the Kookaburra's seam longest). Best in 'carrying' the new ball while Starc sets up the WC-side. Together: the three attack from multiple angles simultaneously. The left-arm (Starc) and two right-arm angles (Cummins angling in; Hazlewood landing outside off) mean batters cannot set themselves for one type of movement. Historical comparisons: West Indies 1975–1995: Roberts, Holding, Garner, Marshall — four bowlers of equal quality, no weakest link, maximum sustained pace. Australia 1999–2007: McGrath (accuracy), Warne (leg-spin), Lee (express pace), Gillespie (seam). The modern Australian trio lacks a frontline spinner at Warne's level; Nathan Lyon is quality but not dominant. Advantage of the modern trio: youth (all played together from 2015–2024 — 9 years of continuity vs the 1999–2007 combination's 5 peak years). The consensus ranking: Cummins-Starc-Hazlewood behind the WI four-pace battery and the McGrath-Warne-Lee trio in all-time impact, but above most other bowling attacks in Test history.