Australia captain Pat Cummins is eliminated from the fourth test in India
Australia captain Pat Cummins will remain in Sydney to support his seriously ill mother and exclude himself from the fourth and final Test against India in Ahmedabad.
Core items:
- Cummin’s mother, Maria, is in palliative care
- Steve Smith will captain Australia in Cummins’ absence
- The fourth test starts on Thursday
Cummins returned home after Australia’s second Test loss in Delhi to be close to his family. His mother, Maria, was placed in palliative care.
Steve Smith stepped in as skipper for the third time since Cummins became Test captain for Australia’s famous nine-wicket win at Indore last week in November 2021.
The team checked in with Cummins after Friday’s memorable victory at Holkar Stadium, just as Australia celebrated their second Test victory on Indian soil in 19 years.
India has already retained the Border-Gavaskar Trophy after winning the Delhi Test.
Meanwhile, Todd Murphy received a special mention from Smith after winning Indore, although fellow spinners Nathan Lyon and Matt Kuhnemann won all the wickets.
Lyon put on a legendary performance, going 11-99 for the game in Indore, while Kuhnemann made his first five-wicket move in just his second Test.
Murphy, who had a minor side injury after the second Test loss in Delhi, finished India’s two innings at numbers 1-41.
While Murphy’s numbers were unremarkable, it was the 22-year-old’s ability to keep the bowling tight when no wickets came that was impressive.
Australia’s assistant coach Daniel Vettori, arguably New Zealand’s biggest crank, said Murphy’s performance in only his third Test has not gone unnoticed.
“Steve Smith singled him out for his performances in the last test,” Vettori said on Monday.
“His spell allowed everyone around him to take those gates.
“The fact that (Virat) Kohli was never at a loss before that friendly in Delhi when Murphy got him out.
“I think Todd has the ability to be a defensive bowler and he can be an attacking bowler and bypass pretty much anything that’s asked of him in the game.
“For such a young spinner, and also for inexperienced spinners, he hasn’t played that much top-flight cricket, to come here and deal with those difficult situations and play the role required was impressive.”
Australia will leave Indore for Ahmedabad on Monday ahead of the fourth Test, which begins on Thursday at the 132,000-capacity Narendra Modi Stadium.
Ahead of the ODI series in India, Australia have suffered injury damage.
Fast bowler Jhye Richardson will miss the three-match streak with a hamstring injury.
Tasmanian Nathan Ellis was named as Richardson’s successor.
The first game will be played in Mumbai on March 17 before the series moves to Vizag (March 19) and Chennai (March 22).
AAP
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-03-06/cricket-australia-pat-cummins-out-of-fourth-test-india/102060190 Australia captain Pat Cummins is eliminated from the fourth test in India
