Cummins Lauds Australia's Dominant Start to WTC Campaign After West Indies Series Win

Australian captain Pat Cummins has voiced his satisfaction with his team's performance at the commencement of the new World Test Championship (WTC) cycle. Having reached the WTC Final in the previous two editions, Australia has secured victories in their first two Test matches of this cycle, triumphing over the West Indies in Grenada to clinch the series.

Cummins celebrates Grenada Test victory © AFP

"Winning away is never easy, so I'm really pleased with how we responded after Lord's (WTC Final)," Cummins stated following the Grenada Test. "It's been a positive couple of weeks. With the pink ball coming up next week, it's good to secure the series beforehand. These matches always present unique challenges. It's a dream start, really, two wins from two, setting us up well in the cycle, and we've played some excellent cricket."

Cummins also acknowledged the contributions of the experienced players in the squad, specifically highlighting Steve Smith's crucial half-century, which helped steer the team out of a precarious situation in the second innings when they were at 28/3, holding a lead of just 61. "I believe experience is a significant factor; we talked about having someone like Steve Smith back," Cummins noted. "He might not have played at Grenada, but he's played on numerous wickets where you need to find different ways to score. It might not always be about powerful drives down the ground; sometimes, you have to grind your way to a 50, and I think that comes with experience."

"With experience, you've likely encountered similar challenges before, giving you a level of composure to work through the problem. As a captain, it makes my job much easier knowing that we have many settled players in the team."

The 32-year-old also showed support for young opener Sam Konstas, who has struggled to make a significant impact in the series, scoring only 33 runs in four innings. "Every innings can feel like the most important thing in the world," he said about Konstas. "But statistically, even the best batters in the world don't hit their average three out of four times. You're going to fail more often than you succeed."

"As long as you learn quickly, move well, and give yourself the best opportunity, you should keep focusing on that and evaluate yourself after a series or so, rather than after each innings."

Another opener facing scrutiny in the series is West Indies' former captain, Kraigg Brathwaite. Despite his impressive career, Brathwaite's 100th Test wasn't particularly successful. He has recorded scores of 4, 4, 0, and 7, prompting head coach Daren Sammy to consider his future for the next game. "He hasn't looked good this series, and in a team searching for performances, you start to think, 'Should we give someone else a chance?'" Sammy said. "But we will have a thorough discussion with myself, the selection group, and the captain about that specific situation."

Sammy also admitted that the pitches in the Caribbean need improvement to produce better Test batters. "It's hard to produce the quality of batters we need to compete," he noted. "When you look at the surfaces we play on, it's challenging."

"If you look at all the averages, we barely have guys averaging over 40 in first-class cricket. These types of pitches make it difficult to develop technically sound players because there's always uncertainty. Ideally, you want to see our players perform because of their skills, not in spite of the conditions. This is something that myself, the director of cricket, and the franchise system have been closely examining, trying to change the situation by sending head groundsmen to various places to learn how to prepare wickets that allow batters to trust their techniques. We also have some technical deficiencies that carry over from the Under-19 and youth levels up to the national team."