Pat pushes reset button

DURING his five- and- a- halfyear absence from Test cricket, Pat Cummins admits at times questioning whether he’d return to cricket’s greatest stage.

Cummins lived up to his immense expectation as an 18year- old with a man- of- thematch performance on debut against the world No. 2 South Africans in Johannesburg in 2011. The New South Welshman took seven wickets for the match – six in the second innings – and hit the winning runs as Australia secured a record second innings run chase at the Wanderers.

A relentless string of injuries cruelled the young prodigy, and it appeared at times he may become the most prolific “what could have been” story in Australian cricket.

Finally, an injury to Mitchell Starc on Australia’s 2017 tour of India opened a door for Cummins, bringing to an end the Test drought.

Almost seven years later, Cummins returns to the nation that launched his career with the opportunity to stake his claim as the world’s best.

While only recently fulfilling his vast potential at international level, Cummins’ Ashes series- topping 23 scalps has the fearsome quick on the verge of finally challenging the game’s elite bowlers.

“It feels like a long, long time ago since that debut,” Cummins said. “Getting back to Test cricket was always the dream. But that’s probably the hardest thing with injuries, I always felt like I could come back but you don’t know what kind of player you’ll be or what kind of loads you can ( carry).”

Going toe- to- toe with Proteas royalty Dale Steyn, Morne Morkel, Vernon Philander and speed sensation Kagiso Rabada, provides Cummins with the perfect platform.

The South African pace quartet dominate the Test rankings. Cummins is not deterred. Australia begin their four Test series of South Africa in Durban on March 1.