Dot balls made the difference, says Aussie vice-captain

MANCHESTER: The Australians went through some anxious moments as Pakistan launched a rearguard effort in their World Cup match in Taunton on Wednesday, admitted their vice captain Pat Cummins.

Just when it seemed it was game over for Pakistan, Wahab Riaz hit a stunning 45 from 39 balls to raise Pakistan’s hopes of pulling off a miracle. Cummins admitted that his team was relieved after Wahab’s fall after a whirlwind eighth wicket partnership with skipper Sarfraz Ahmed.

“It goes to show that everyone can bat these days,” said Cummins, who bowled impressively for his 3-33. “It was a bit closer than we would have liked, so it was good to get those couple of wickets and finish it off. We gave them a bit too much width and suddenly they were back in the game, it’s a good lesson to learn.”

The Aussies kept taking Pakistani wickets but Cummins believes it were the frequent dot balls his bowlers delivered that sealed the fate of the match in Australia’s favour. “That’s the big improvement in my game in the last couple of years, the ability to hold a length and make it difficult to get runs,” said Cummins, who has established a reputation of being the most miserly bowler in international cricket.

“If you give away easy singles then 300 becomes quite an achievable score. Cutting out the singles is huge, it means if you give away a boundary it might not be that big over of ten or 11, it may just be a five or a six.

“This was as good a bowling wicket as you’ll get. If you didn’t bowl well then you’d get smashed but if you put it in the right places you were always in the game.”