Pat Cummins hails interim coach Andrew McDonald after Test series win against Pakistan
Mar 26, 2022
Lahore [Pakistan], March 26 : After Australia's 1-0 Test series triumph over Pakistan on Friday, captain Pat Cummins praised the influence of interim coach Andrew McDonald in the team's victory.
Nathan Lyon's five-wicket haul and skipper Pat Cummins' three-wicket haul helped Australia in bowling out Pakistan at 235 and claiming a victory by 155 runs on Day 5 of the third Test.
"He's fantastic, Very diligent, very thorough, strategic, very organised. He is a huge part of this tour win ... and all the support staff. It's not just the players that walk out, we have got a squad of 30-odd people working so hard. He (McDonald) has been an important part," cricket.com.au quoted Pat Cummins as saying.
Earlier pacer Mitchell Johnson described Cummins as "gutless" and accused him of having an agenda to get in a coach he wants, but the Test captain dismissed the accusations.
"It's not my place to appoint the coach, but he has been fantastic. We need a new style of coaching and skillset," said Cummins.
Cummins' next captaincy assignment is a two-Test tour of Sri Lanka in June and July before a four-Test tour of India starting in September.
"The amount of confidence we will get out of winning over here, not just as a team but so many individuals ... being able to stand up to Asian conditions, it's huge for the Sri Lanka tour later in the year," said Cummins.
"It's probably not as much (spinning) conditions here as what we'll get in Sri Lanka. But I think the last Asian tours that I have been on, there's a lot of talk in Australia that we have got to change our game to suit over here. This is a good lesson that the basics of batting and bowling that we play in Australia can hold up over here. If anything, it reaffirms that our game can hold up," he added.
