Australian captain Pat Cummins has unveiled the tactics behind his ‘dream ball’ that led to the dismissal of Pakistan’s top-ranked batter, Babar Azam, during day two of the Melbourne Test.
In the post-match press conference, Pat Cummins explained how he planned to get Babar out.
He makes it all sound so easy…. A 'dream ball' from a dreamy captain in a spell that turned the Boxing Day Test 🥰 #AUSvPAK pic.twitter.com/S0gW7PusGQ
— cricket.com.au (@cricketcomau) December 27, 2023
Pat Cummins said, “It’s a dream ball – that’s what you try and bowl most balls, but it’s rare that it comes off. Really happy with that one.”
He added, “That wasn’t a deliberate ball to seam in. That’s 50-50, whether it’s going to seam in or out. I try and create a bit of an angle, and if I don’t know what it’s doing, hopefully the batter doesn’t know either.”
Cummins also shared that swinging the ball is a bit more predictable because the batter can see it earlier and the margins for error are smaller. He occasionally tries to swing the ball, but it’s not something he does often. Most of the time, he focuses on getting some seam movement off the pitch.
At the end of the day’s play, Pakistan found themselves in a challenging position, with the score at 194-6. They were trailing Australia by 124 runs. Mohammad Rizwan was holding firm with 29 runs, while Aamer Jamal was unbeaten on two. They faced the daunting task of stabilizing their team’s innings.
Babar Azam hasn’t had a great year, especially in red-ball cricket. He has now gone eight innings without scoring a Test fifty in 2023. This is the first time in his career that he has failed to score a single half-century in a calendar year. He will have one more opportunity to make a significant contribution to his tally this year.
Pakistan played a total of five Test matches this year, including one that is still ongoing. Their first red-ball match of the year was against New Zealand, which ended in a draw. Babar was the captain at that time and managed to score 24 and 27 runs in two innings.
In July 2023, Pakistan toured Sri Lanka for a two-match Test series, which they won. However, Babar continued to struggle with the bat, scoring 13 and 24 in the first Test. During the second Test, Pakistan only batted once, and Babar contributed 39 runs.
During the current tour of Australia, Babar once again failed to perform well for his team. In the first Test, he scored 21 and 14 runs.
Whenever Pakistan team need Babar he dissapoint….the selectors should drop him now and include new talent…Very bad performance in world cup and now in tests in Australia.