Tireless Cummins an Aussie ironman

IF ever any further proof was needed that Pat Cummins had transformed from Australian cricket’s broken man to its ironman, it materialised for all to see at The Oval yesterday.

The man brought in to protect Cummins from a backbreaking workload, Mitchell Marsh, stood at the top of his mark and prepared to charge in for a 16th over.

Marsh had done his job of soaking up an admirable amount of the work, which in the end was crucial as offspinner Nathan Lyon contributed just four overs as he nurses a split to a callus on his spinning finger.

But as he wound up for another six balls, it was Marsh’s body that started to fail him.

He twice pulled out of his run-up before sending down another outswinger to Jack Leach — and grabbed at his right hamstring, which had begun to cramp up.

And as Marsh gingerly made his way off the field, it was Cummins, Australia’s man for all occasions, who walked up to umpire Marais Erasmus and handed over his cap.

The 26-year-old has sent down more deliveries than anyone outside of Lyon this series, a tireless performance that continued for a 20th over as he took the ball from Marsh. Marsh took the day one plaudits in London, but it was again Cummins who deserved the accolades. He finished with 2-73 from 22.5 overs — the most of the day, naturally — but that tells half the story of a performance in which he had sitters dropped off England captain Joe Root in consecutive overs.

Sometimes the cricket gods do not play along. Even for the special ones like Cummins.

Injury after injury cruelled Cummins in his youth to the point where some in the game began to wonder whether he would ever make it back at all.

Now, says Marsh, he finishes a spell and looks fresh enough to run a halfmarathon. “Patty bowls 20 overs and if you ask him how he’s going [he responds] ‘yeah, I’m sweet’,” Marsh said. “He just doesn’t really get tired. It’s incredible to watch.”