Ahead of hosting England for ODIs and T20Is, the West Indies captain talks about her WBBL experience and her desire to become a power-hitter

Firdose Moonda03-Dec-2022When you make an international debut at 16 and win a World Cup at 18, it probably doesn’t seem that unusual to be a national captain by 24. But of two teams? That’s more than most players can ever dream of.Last July, Hayley Matthews led Barbados at the Commonwealth Games and in September, she captained West Indies for the first time.”Growing up, when I thought of being an international player, captaining the team was really big on my list,” Matthews says from Antigua, where she is preparing for West Indies’ limited-overs series against England, starting with the first ODI on December 4. “It’s been a huge honour to be given the responsibility of leading the team and the team has supported me really well from the outset.”That includes the former captain Stafanie Taylor, who was stood down from the role by the Cricket West Indies board in June. Far from creating any awkwardness, Taylor’s presence in the side has helped the transition. “She has played a major role in how smoothly things have gone over the last couple of months,” Matthews says. “Everything has been going great so far and I am just loving the job at the moment.”Related

• How women are joining the power-hitting game in T20s

• Hayley Matthews takes over as West Indies captain from Stafanie Taylor

• Deandra Dottin's shock retirement took Hayley Matthews by surprise

• Dottin trumps Matthews to give Knight Riders inaugural WCPL title

• Goswami finishes as fifth-ranked bowler in ODIs, Matthews rises to No. 1 among allrounders

Except everything is not exactly going great for West Indies, who last won a series a year ago in Pakistan. Since then, they have lost to South Africa away and to New Zealand at home, and seen the departure of senior player Deandra Dottin, who retired from international cricket to pursue opportunities in T20 leagues.The last of those is a circumstance West Indies are more familiar with than any other team, and Matthews believes it’s on the administrators to create clear windows and avoid conflicting competitions.”It has a lot to do with disparity in payment when it comes to playing international cricket or franchise cricket. Boards have to try to take steps to make sure players are happy playing both. Once those windows are created, it helps create a bit of balance, we can get a bit of both in.”Matthews, the top-ranked allrounder in ODIs and No. 2 in T20Is, knows the importance of being versatile in that way only too well. She was picked up in the inaugural edition of the Big Bash by Hobart Hurricanes, a year before her heroics at the 2016 World Cup, and has been part of the tournament ever since. In fact, she missed West Indies’ training camp, arriving in Antigua straight from Melbourne, where she was Renegades’ leading run-scorer this season and their stand-in captain for the last two games.Although Renegades finished seventh out of eight teams, Matthews still regards the experience as a career highlight and believes the WBBL has set the benchmark for other leagues.”Women are consistently striking at 140 or 150, so as a player you have to adapt a lot more and a lot quicker to keep up with the game”•Jonathan DiMaggio/Getty Images”It’s one of the highest standards of competitions in the world. It’s a great experience to go down there, play some cricket, learn some more and even lead in those two games at the end of the season – those were all experiences for me to take in,” she says. “Australia have had eight seasons of WBBL and it shows in their [international] performances and how they are leading in world cricket. The quicker we can get the other boards and teams to really come forward and build a strong franchise system, the smaller the gap is going to be.”West Indies have already got on board and held the first women’s CPL, preceded by the 6ixty (ten-overs-a-side), this year. Matthews captained Barbados Royals, who won the 6ixty and reached the final of a four-team CPL. She thinks the addition of these tournaments will help West Indies’ players develop in the same way as Australia’s have. Specifically, Matthews thinks the pace at which the game is played and the amount of runs scored has increased markedly from eight years ago.”The difference in the scores from when I started playing international cricket to now is massive. Now, when you set 145 in a T20I, you know the other team is in with a shot. Before, you would have been pretty comfortable going out to bowl to that,” she says. “Kudos to the leagues – they have so much to do and such a big part to play with the changing standard of the game.”One of the things that comes with greater run-scoring is bigger hitting, which is a focal point in the women’s game. Matthews has a strike rate over 100 in T20Is and has been called “one of the best players in the world” by England captain Heather Knight, but clearing the rope is a skill she wants to improve on.”It has a lot to do with my balance and technique,” she says. “I know big hitting is crucial and it’s something a lot of players have been working on. Women are consistently striking at 140 or 150, so as a player you have to adapt a lot more and a lot quicker to keep up with the game.”Matthews led Barbados Royals to a win in the ten-over tournament that preceded the inaugural women’s CPL this year•Randy Brooks/CPL T20/Getty ImagesMatthews and Knight will lead their sides against each other in three ODIs and five T20Is in Antigua and Barbados. Both formats will serve as a measure of West Indies’ progress, and Matthews will be looking to add to the three wins on her captaincy record.”We need the points for the Championship in the ODIs and to prepare for the T20 World Cup,” she says, optimistic of their chances of challenging a team that swept them 5-0 in their most recent T20I series, and whom they last beat in 2009.”England is a very good team but coming to the West Indies is always very challenging for outside teams.”We have to come hard if we want to compete well with them. We saw a lot of players put into new positions and new roles in our team recently, which is exactly what we needed to do. Once we keep giving opportunities to players and the players keep wanting that, we should be able to see a lot of progress.”Nobody in West Indies cricket embodies that more than Matthews, who has taken just about every chance she has been given since she gave up javelin-throwing for cricket. She has risen through the ranks and been a force for so long that it’s easy to think she is in the twilight of her career, but she has plenty more left.”With so much cricket going on, you have to take it year by year. What’s really good is that the Future Tours Programme has come out now. It’s given me an idea of what cricket we have over the next couple of years and a good opportunity to sit down before the year starts and plan out what I am going to be doing and where I am going to be, so I can keep myself mentally and physically fit.”It’s going to be quite difficult to stay on the park all the time, but I am 100% committed to West Indies cricket as the No.1 priority. Everything outside of that, we have to schedule around it.”You wouldn’t expect any less from a cricketer who played senior cricket at 12 and at double that age has only multiplied her accolades.

Over the last 12 months, Australia have secured victories in Pakistan, Sri Lanka and India in a commendable show of depth

Andrew McGlashan03-Mar-20232:19

Chappell: Getting India out cheaply in the first innings was key

India don’t do losing at home. When Marnus Labuschagne lofted R Ashwin over midwicket a little more than an hour into the third day in Indore and lifted his arms in triumph, it was just India’s third defeat on their own soil in ten years.They particularly don’t do losing when they have a team seemingly down and out as Australia were after shipping 8 for 28 in the second innings in Delhi. Their previous two defeats had come at the start of a series – against England in Chennai in 2021, and Australia in Pune in 2017 – when the visiting side stole an early march only to be cut back down to size.This series had gone from Australia after their implosion in the last game, but that does not take anything away from this victory. In fact, it makes it even more remarkable. In the ten days since, they had seen their captain fly home for tragic personal circumstances and David Warner leave the tour injured. Josh Hazlewood was also ruled out and Ashton Agar allowed to head home after basically becoming unselectable.Related

McDonald: Carey stumping Rohit on first morning 'gave us control' of Indore Test

Stats: A rare home defeat for India, a forgettable Test for the umpires

Travis Head leads charge to seal emphatic chase for Australia

As is so often the case when things go wrong, everything was being called into question from the team’s preparation to whether they are playing hard enough – whatever that means. When everything around them appeared to be falling apart, Australia took a step back and caught their breath. Then they didn’t let their heads drop when India won the toss, instead skittling the home side out in less than 34 overs.”The break came at a good time for us,” stand-in captain Steven Smith said. “We were obviously disappointed with the way things ended… and knowing after that second Test we can’t actually win the series, which has always been on the bucket list for a few of us.”For the guys to be able to regroup, trust themselves with what they are trying to do and just try to do it for longer, it’s something we’ve spoken about, and the way we did it this week was really pleasing. It’s about taking the result out of play, having faith in our methods for long enough. We are good enough players to get the results we are after more often than not.”In a game dominated by the ball on a spiteful surface – which takes nothing away from the performance of Australia’s spinners – that mindset was perhaps best shown by the superbly-constructed stand of 96 between Labuschagne and Usman Khawaja in the first innings which, with a little helping hand from Ravindra Jadeja’s no-ball, ensured that India could not immediately bowl themselves back into the match.The way Labuschagne and Travis Head then flicked the switch from caution to balanced attack on the third morning to kill the game also showed a clarity of thought that had been missing earlier in the series.Steven Smith on captaining in India: “It’s a game of chess, every ball means something”•Getty ImagesA few key aspects fell into place more by accident than by design, but it’s a credit to those players that they have had success. Matthew Kuhnemann wasn’t originally on the tour but took five wickets in the first innings, and claimed Virat Kohli in the second. Had Agar’s form and confidence not deserted him, Todd Murphy may not have started the series – but he has bowled like a veteran, claiming Kohli three times – and Kuhnemann would not have been called up.Head (somehow) wasn’t in the team in Nagpur but halfway through Delhi was promoted to open after Warner’s concussion, and has responded with a brace of confident 40s. And while the enforced change in captaincy has come about through awful circumstances, Smith had an outstanding match on the field. Since 1969, Australia have won only six Tests in India, and Smith has led them in two of those.”India is a part of the world I love captaining [in],” he said, while reaffirming this was Cummins’ team. “It’s a game of chess, every ball means something. It’s good to just move people and try to make the batter do something different and just play games with them. It’s probably my favourite place in the world to captain [in].”You think back home in Australia and generally you’re playing with a third slip, or putting a third slip to cover, or [move] your square leg up or back, or something like that. There’s not too much that sort of goes on with it. Sort of just stick to the same game plan and try to trust what you’re trying to do there.”But [in] this part of the world you have to be really proactive. Every ball is an event and therefore can dictate what happens after, which is something that I really love; and you’ve got to be ahead of the game. So I thought I did it well this week and it was good fun.”Over the last 12 months, Australia have secured victories in Pakistan, Sri Lanka and India. Though they have had some bad days along the way, for a team that had not toured the subcontinent for Test cricket between 2017 and 2022, that is a commendable show of depth and adaptability. Winning away from home is a massively tough ask.It also means they have locked in their spot in the World Test Championship final, and now it is India who have to sweat on joining them at The Oval. Quite what that means for the pitch that will be prepared in Ahmedabad remains to be seen – you would think it unlikely that the green seamer will now transpire – but Australia have shown that they can beat India at their own game.While levelling the series would not be mission accomplished, it would go down as one of Australia’s finest achievements.

The RCB batter was a class above on a slow pitch and his pyrotechnics had a direct line to the Royals collapse

Alagappan Muthu14-May-20231:13

Bishop: We see growth and understanding in Maxwell’s game

In the 10th over, Glenn Maxwell saw an opportunity to collect six runs.Adam Zampa had gone flat and into the wicket, one which was slow and dry and hard to score on. In these conditions, the ball doesn’t come onto the bat. Except this one did, much faster than the batter expected. Zampa’s quick arm action and the revs he imparts – overspin instead of sidespin – often make it seem like he gains pace after pitching.By the time a batter – one who’s made the mistake of thinking there’s a pull shot on – realises this, he doesn’t really have the time to adjust.You know that scene at the end in where everything goes black, the music stops and all you hear is extreme foreshadowing.Swap the Rebels out. Stick the spinners in their place. Swap Darth Vader out, Stick Maxwell in his place.Because only the Force explains how he still hit that ball for four. It helps that Star Wars never really committed to how the thing works. It even became a running joke, the most memorable line associated with it is Han Solo saying “that’s not how the Force works.”Related

• Samson: 'We go really hard in the powerplay, but today it didn't work'

In much the same way, it’s hard to figure out how Maxwell works. You see him happen. He’s right there in front of your eyes. And it still doesn’t make sense. His genius sometimes suspends reality.Like here, that original big backlift, horizontal bat shot turns – in no time at all – into something of a straight bat whip. Maxwell has the best hands in the business. If not for those, this wouldn’t have been possible.Because while other people might have made contact with the ball – it was by no means wicket-taking – very few would’ve been able to hit it to the boundary.This is probably what the experts mean by having two shots to the same ball. Maxwell had the pull ready at first glance. Then he realised it wasn’t quite on, and he still had a pretty good back up plan that fetched him four runs through wide long-on.This is the way: Maxwell appeared to be conjuring the force at will to hit boundaries•BCCIThe chaos of the chase, where Rajasthan Royals lost six wickets in the first seven overs, were a consequence of this going from a 140-odd game to a 170-odd game. Yashasvi Jaiswal, Jos Buttler and Sanju Samson all fell to the first risk they took – because they had to. They were batting in the powerplay. That was the best time they had to score quickly. They had no choice.Maxwell is the one who imposed that misery on them by playing the kind of innings that only he can play. Check this out. Every other batter in this match combined made 89 for 7 against spin at a run rate of 6.51. Then there’s this one guy with 42 for 0 at a run rate of 10.9.Maxwell is a natural against spin, but he doesn’t just rest on that. He works every little advantage he gets. In the 17th over, he saw that three of the five fielders on the boundary were on the off side. That gave him an indication of the line Yuzvendra Chahal would be bowling. Long-on and midwicket were in place too, lying in wait for the mis-hit slog.That left fine leg and square leg up. It was the only vulnerability in this system and Maxwell exploited it beautifully. A good portion of his big hits are the result of premeditation. But here he had to wait; he had to stay perfectly still until Chahal let the ball go. Then, when the spinner no longer had any control over proceedings, he moved across the crease and scooped a ball that was way outside off stump into the gap behind the wicket for six.Maxwell once made a public moan about Suryakumar Yadav making the rest of them look bad. Here, he was catching up to that level. If indeed he had ever left it.Since his IPL debut, way back in April 2012, only Chris Gayle (608) has hit more boundaries against spin than Maxwell (457). This is in all T20s.In just the IPL, his strike rate against slow bowling – 164.59 – is the highest among all specialist batters to have faced at least 100 balls.You’ll notice the contrivance of that stat – “specialist batters” – because there is one man who has a higher strike rate. Sunil Narine with 194.79, because he’s had the benefit of facing 627 balls fewer. If ever there was a cricket bat that matched the power of a lightsaber, its Maxwell’s. And Royals felt the full brunt of it on Sunday evening.

A conventional batter at the age of 23, Shafique was not fazed at the prospect of pulling off a record chase in a World Cup

Shashank Kishore11-Oct-20231:16

Urooj Mumtaz: Shafique vs Fakhar debate has been put to rest

Abdullah Shafique couldn’t have asked for a more memorable World Cup debut. A century in a record chase to make it two wins in two, appreciation from his captain, encouragement from the crowd – it was a night he will remember forever.In a parallel universe, Shafique may have just carried drinks, merely soaking in being part of a famous win from the sidelines. Or even a morale-sapping loss after conceding 345. But Fakhar Zaman’s lean run that had extended into its sixth month led to him getting an opportunity.It’s debatable whether Fakhar deserved to be dropped this early in the World Cup, especially after he was wholeheartedly backed by Mickey Arthur just three nights earlier. But Pakistan couldn’t have thrown Shafique into a cauldron in front of 100,000 fans against Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj in Ahmedabad. It was the logical decision and Shafique repaid that faith.His 113 was peerless, and he stuck to the old-school fundamentals of building an innings rather than trying to go berserk initially. It was a knock that underlined his self-awareness, the ability to play to fields, decide which bowlers to take on.Related

• Is Kusal Mendis finally going to be Sri Lanka's – rampaging – Mr Consistent?

• Rizwan 131*, Shafique 113 complete record World Cup chase

• Pakistan record the highest successful chase at the World Cup

• Shafique rips up the rule book with World Cup century

• When Hyderabad loved Rizwan (and Pakistan) back

Shafique benefitted immensely from having Mohammad Rizwan at the other end and the pair pitched multiple base camps as Pakistan built towards the summit attempt. None of which had seemed possible at 37 for 2 in the eighth over when Babar Azam was strangled down the leg side.Until he got to a half-century, Shafique barely took a risk. He’d emerged as a Test batter with pedigree, glimpses of which were seen in Sri Lanka a few months earlier on tough turners. His one-day game was still a work-in-progress. Pakistan saw potential, and his skill and technique was never in doubt, the big question remained: could he adapt? Shafique had only played eight List A games, so the sample size was small.Shafique is watchable whatever the score. There’s so much confidence, a repertoire of shots that make you go ‘wow’, like the one soon after his hundred when he waltzed down the track and lofted Dilshan Madushanka off his length over extra cover. As their partnership grew, Shafique’s belief in his methods convinced Rizwan the best thing would be to just enjoy the show rather than keep chirping instructions at the end of every over.”The idea was to bat until the 20th over first, take our score up to 100 and then reassess again at 30, and once again at 40,” Rizwan said. “I told him initially, let’s not look at the scoreboard. Just keep batting, just be there, spend time in the middle.”Abdullah Shafique took just 39 balls to get from 50 to 100•ICC via Getty ImagesShafique got to his half-century off 58 balls, playing largely conventional cricket. It was in sharp contrast to Sri Lanka’s gung-ho approach that eventually tapered to a trickle as their innings ended. Remarkably, for a side that made their highest World Cup total – 344 – the sentiment was that they should have got 370, perhaps 380. The first ball Shafique faced after getting to a half-century was launched over long-on for six. It was time to take off.”Century came later; initially when you lose early wickets, as a young player coming in, especially in a big chase, there’s pressure and what he did out there is in front of all of you,” Rizwan said of Shafique. “Yes, the pitch supported the batters but when you look at the scoreboard, there’s pressure. The communication with him was to build an innings, bat until the 20th and take it from there. The way he built the innings beautifully from there on, it became easier for us to chase it down.”It took just 39 balls for Shafique to go from 50 to 100; he brought up the landmark with a bludgeoned pull off Madushanka. There had been pin-drop silence when Babar was dismissed; now there was wild cheering for Shafique and Rizwan as Pakistan got within range.When Shafique got to a half-century, you wondered if he had the gears to play the Pakistan Way. Shafique answered that emphatically, buying into the team’s new mantra of playing fearlessly.”This is a great sign not just for me, but for our batting unit, the kind of confidence you get when you chase down a 300-plus score is amazing,” he said. “My preparation [for the World Cup] began even before I got to India. You assess the kind of pitches we will play on, conditions, bowling attacks and make plans accordingly. I was prepared; I was just waiting for an opportunity and I’m thankful to the team management for their backing.”Shafique is only 23. He will face bigger battles, and better attacks on tougher surfaces. For now, when he takes off for Ahmedabad, he can soak in a job well done before he gets into rinse-and-repeat mode.

Will Young was playing senior team cricket at 19 but it is only at 30 that he’s carved his place in the national team. In all that time, he’s never given up

Alagappan Muthu and Deivarayan Muthu11-Oct-2023Six years ago, a team from New Zealand had come to Chennai to work on how to play spin. Will Young was a part of it. Except he needed special permission.See, he was from Central Districts. And this training program was being conducted by Canterbury. Dude was basically gatecrashing. And what was he gatecrashing? A class trip to the library. Who does that?Young chose to spend his September halfway across the world because he thought it’d be good preparation… for an A team tour that was coming up. That’s how serious he is about his game.Related

Will Young, the reserve who stole the show: 'You've got to be prepared to bat anywhere in the top five'

'Just great to be sitting here now' – Kane Williamson all set to go against Bangladesh

NZ look to make it 3/3 in Chennai amid their captain's big return

Williamson 'looking good' for comeback, Southee available for selection against Bangladesh

Being 'aggressive' the way to go for Santner in spinning conditions

The wider world knows Young as a top-order batter with a reasonable record – averages 42.28 in ODIs with two centuries and six fifties from 24 innings. It’s also no secret that he flows into his drives, their beauty checked only by the fact that he is bottom-hand dominant. And that’s sort of it.Within New Zealand, there’s always been hype around him. He was captain of their Under-19 team at the World Cup in 2012, where they made it to the semi-finals. He was already playing first-class cricket by then, a teenager spending time on the field with veterans like Matthew Sinclair, Chris Martin and Daryl Tuffey. He went on to lead Central Districts to the one-day Ford Trophy and four-day Plunket Shield titles.Prodigies don’t usually have to wait until they’re 30 to carve a place for themselves. But that’s been Young’s lot. The Test match he was supposed to debut in was scrapped because of a terrorist attack in Christchurch. He injured his shoulder at a preparatory camp for the 2019 World Cup and ended up watching from home. Six days ago, when he finally got to represent New Zealand in this prestigious tournament, he was caught down the leg side for a duck.There’s good luck. There’s bad luck. And then there’s what Young has, where everything seems to be coming together just so it can unravel spectacularly. Picture winning the lottery, except on the way to collect the money, you get hit by lightning.All high-performance athletes need to have a working relationship with failure and Young understands that. That trip to Chennai in 2017 was about closing holes in his game. He perfected his sweep shot there under the supervision of Gary Stead who made him play without his front pad. With nothing but the bat to protect himself, he developed the intuition needed to pick the right ball to sweep and the repetition helped in developing the muscle memory needed to play the shot confidently.Will Young averages 42.28 in ODIs with two centuries and six fifties from 24 innings•ICC via Getty ImagesYears later, in 2022 when he made 89 in a Test match in Kanpur against a bowling attack of R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja and Axar Patel, he referenced those lessons as invaluable.”Will took that chance to come over here [six years ago], which I think is a testament to his growth and mindset as well and thinking about the future in how he can grow his game,” Stead recalled, in the lead-up to New Zealand’s World Cup game against Bangladesh at Chepauk, on Wednesday. “Hopefully, you can lean back on those experiences when you get times like now as well.”The whole idea is, in New Zealand, we get conditions that are pace and bounce and usually don’t spin a lot. So, it was a chance for Will – and others – to grow their games and experience real differences in what we would normally face – the heat, for one, dealing with the sweat, the turning pitches, and the changing conditions are the ideas we were sort of looking for to try and be able to grow their games.”Yet for a few hours, as Rachin Ravindra flayed England to all parts, it seemed like Young’s World Cup campaign was in jeopardy. Here was a player who had everything. The ball pinged off his bat with such a sound. He was only 23 too. Named after Rahul Dravid and Sachin Tendulkar. The story wrote itself. The future had arrived.Ravindra came in at No. 3 that day. The way he bats, steadily picking up steam, he’d be wasted down the order. Devon Conway and Kane Williamson are locked in this team. So that left the guy who fell for a duck.

“Every great player is also aware of the areas they want to improve in, then dedicate their time to putting in the yards to make those gains and Will certainly fits that bill.”Glenn Pocknall, Young’s domestic coach

Except Young had earned New Zealand’s trust over two difficult tours to the subcontinent. In Bangladesh, he made the difference in a contest between second-string sides, his 70 off 80 balls securing a series win for New Zealand. And earlier, in Pakistan, he was that rare right-handed batter that Shaheen Shah Afridi couldn’t dismiss with the new ball. Not even after four tries.Young produced extremely respectable numbers against one of the most dangerous quicks in the world – 48 runs in 54 balls with eight fours – and only went up a notch when the spinners came on. He hit Shadab Khan and Mohammad Nawaz for a combined 73 runs in 58 balls and suffered just two dismissals.One innings, in particular, stands out in the mind of Young’s domestic coach Glenn Pocknall. “It could have been the deal breaker for him to cement his opening spot in the ODI team. He scored 87, opening against Pakistan in Pakistan in May this year, I think it was. An innings showcasing his skills navigating the new ball and then playing the spinners with ease on a wearing surface. An innings which allowed New Zealand to beat Pakistan in Pakistan, which is a great feat.”At almost the last chance he had to fashion himself a meaningful ODI career, Young has come good. He is 30 now. If he had missed this World Cup, he probably wasn’t going to get another. It feels like just a reward for a player who just will not give up.Young had 200 domestic matches to his name by the time he made his debut for New Zealand in 2020. The closest he would get until then was the A team and maybe that’s why he didn’t mind country-hopping in preparation for even that level of cricket.”He has great work ethic and that Chennai trip in 2017 shows what he’s willing to do to get better,” Pocknall said. “Every great player is also aware of the areas they want to improve in, then dedicate their time to putting in the yards to make those gains and Will certainly fits that bill.”Quite often he has been given one-off games or come in at the last minute and performed well. This is another fine example of his ability to show up on the big stage. He has shown a huge relentless drive to keep improving and it’s this mindset which has allowed him to overcome any type of setback.”Young has had to wait his turn. He’s had to feed on scraps. He’s had to push himself in pursuit of a dream that kept slipping away. He’s persevered through all of that and proven once and for all that where there’s a Will, there’s a way.

A man for all conditions and occasions, he has led Australia to a WTC title, an away Ashes retention and an ODI World Cup in 2023 alone

Alex Malcolm29-Dec-20235:10

‘A classic at the MCG’

Outside of the MCG, Australia’s sporting cathedral, the statues of Shane Warne and Dennis Lillee stand proudly as a tribute to two of Australian cricket’s greatest-ever bowlers. They might add another statue one day, and it might be of Pat Cummins. It would be hard to argue against.If Scott Boland’s 6 for 7 on debut is worthy of one, then Cummins’ 10 for 97 to carry his side to another Test victory at the MCG in a year when he has already led his nation to a World Test Championship title, an away Ashes retention, and an ODI World Cup is worthy of a similar tribute.On Friday, Cummins became just the second Australian captain alongside Allan Border to take ten wickets in a Test. He also joined Warne and Lillee as one of only ten Australians to 250 Test wickets. Cummins’ average of 22.32 is the second-best among the ten – behind Glenn McGrath’s 21.64 – but his strike rate of 46.70 is the best. He is in rare air. Something that even he had to pinch himself about when he saw the list of ten names flash up on the scoreboard.Related

Pakistan's pursuit of history culminates in another heartbreak

Stats – Cummins' rare captaincy double, and Babar's quiet 2023

Immense Cummins takes 10 to inspire Australia to tough victory

'How did that bowl me?' – the tale of Babar, Cummins, and a dream ball

“That was pretty special company being up there,” Cummins said after Australia beat Pakistan by 79 runs on the fourth day. “Nathan [Lyon] and Mitch [Starc] welcomed me into their club, so I look forward to those catch-ups. They’re really proud moments seeing the names that are up there that I’m alongside.”I think the thing that’s most satisfying is the longevity that it takes to hit a few of those milestones – especially after missing a few years when I was a bit younger – so it’s always a nice little reminder.”What he has achieved defies all logic, given he missed five-and-a-half years of Test cricket between his first Test in November 2011 and his second in March 2017 due to injury. What he continues to achieve defies belief, especially in this year alone. The monotony of his exemplary performances in big moments is the biggest threat to his legacy. Observers just assume he’ll come on to bowl and win the game for his country, and invariably he does.This Boxing Day Test was no different. On the second day of the match, with Pakistan 124 for 1 and in cruise control in pursuit of establishing a critical first-innings lead, Cummins turned the game around with a stunning return catch to remove Abdullah Shafique and a sublime delivery to get Babar Azam.”It’s the best I’ve felt like I’ve bowled for a little while” – Pat Cummins•Getty Images and Cricket AustraliaIn the second innings, he stood up in the big moments again. Pakistan had started reasonably well while chasing 317 for victory, moving to 49 for 1 from 14 overs. Cummins went around the wicket to Imam-ul-Haq and thundered one into his front pad. Umpire Michael Gough gave it not out. Cummins was irrepressible. Two balls later, he charged in again and smashed Imam on the front knee with something that looked like an Exocet missile as it nipped back in at the stumps; this time Gough raised his finger.Twelve overs later, Pakistan were flying at 106 for 2. Alongside Babar, Shan Masood was playing a captain’s knock, racing to 60 off 70 deliveries with seven boundaries, as they rattled along at four runs an over.Cummins hadn’t bowled since the 19th over when the score was 62 for 2. But he brought himself back from the Members’ end. He went around the wicket to Masood too, and pitched fuller, threatening to shape into middle and off, as Masood tried to drive towards mid-on with the angle. Having removed Imam with one that nipped in, this Cummins missile nipped away late and caught the outside edge.Captain snares captain, Australia on top again.Later in the afternoon, the game was in the balance once more. Josh Hazlewood had bowled an incredible spell of five overs that included 24 dots in a row and the wicket of Babar, bowled through the gate for the second time in the match. Starc had sent Saud Shakeel back with some extra pace and bounce.Whenever Pakistan seemed in control, Pat Cummins brought himself on and provided the spark for Australia•Getty Images and Cricket AustraliaBut Mohammad Rizwan and Agha Salman were threatening to pull off the impossible. Their 57-run stand had drawn Pakistan within 98 runs of a famous victory, with five wickets in hand. The nip and swing that had been ever-present all match had seemingly disappeared. Lyon had been unable to contain the run rate despite creating two half-chances that failed to be taken.Cummins brought himself back again. This time he set a field for short-pitched bowling and summoned his inner nasty streak that hides below his mild-mannered Clark Kent persona. A brutal bouncer had Rizwan ducking, a back-of-a-length ball had him jumping, and then Rizwan lost sight of one and ducked into a length ball that flicked his right wristband on the way through to Alex Carey. It took a while for the third umpire to give it out on review. But Cummins had delivered again.Two more nasty short balls accounted for Aamer Jamal and Shaheen Shah Afridi; Cummins had ten wickets in the match, and Australia were all but home.He’s a man for all conditions and all occasions. When it’s seaming, he is a nightmare, nipping them in and out, and threatening both edges. When it’s flat, he draws his length back and threatens gloves, rib cages and jugulars. He does it with a smile and a sense of calm that permeates through the whole Australian team.”It’s the best I’ve felt like I’ve bowled for a little while,” Cummins said. “Rhythm felt really good. Felt like [I had] good pace. I knew where my wrist was. [I] could control the seam, and [there were] some good bounces. I felt really happy with just how I was bowling even if I didn’t take wickets.”And then as a team, it’s a huge year. All formats, a lot of success and to top it off by winning a series at home, which we pride ourselves on doing. It’s a pretty satisfying way to end 2023.”A bronze statue or not, 2023 is the year Pat Cummins cemented his legacy.