Australian speedster Pat Cummins has addressed and clarified Josh Hazlewood’s controversial remarks about potentially losing a match against Scotland to knock out England from the Super 8s stage of ICC T20 World Cup 2024. Cummins emphasized that intentionally underperforming to influence the tournament outcome goes against the spirit of cricket.
Cummins clarified that Hazlewood’s comments, which were meant as a joke, were taken out of context. He stressed that Australia will approach their match against Scotland with full effort, respecting the competitive nature of the sport. “I was speaking to Joshy, who joked about it the other day, and I think it got taken a little bit out of context. We’ll go there and just try to play Scotland, who have had a really good tournament so far and will be tough,” Cummins explained.
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Pat Cummins Reflects on the players’ workload management during T20 World Cup 2024
Pat acknowledged the importance of net run rate in the tournament’s setup but affirmed that it wouldn’t affect their commitment to playing their best. “When you go out and play, you are trying your best every time, and if you are not, that’s probably against the spirit of cricket,” he added.
Discussing the demands of knockout matches and workload management, Cummins highlighted the importance of rest and recovery. “It’s a bit of a luxury now in this first section of the tournament, but once we get to the Super Eights, there won’t be any resting. There are no workload issues at all. You start prioritizing sleep, refueling, and those kinds of things, but getting up for the game is fine. We’ve done it loads of times, with plenty of IPL games involving play, flying to the other side of the country, and playing again,” he said.
Australia has secured their place in the Super 8s stage of the tournament following a decisive 9-wicket victory over Namibia. Cummins, along with his team, is focused on maintaining their sportsmanship and competitive edge as they advance to the knockout matches.
