Australia captain Pat Cummins isn’t someone who hides behind excuses. As Australia suffered a humiliating 9-wicket defeat against Bangladesh in the first Test in Darwin on Sunday, he gave the touring side its due credit, while admitting that it was on the opening day of the contest that Australia lost the plot. It was in March this year that Cummins highlighted the sacrifice his teammates were making to prepare well for the Australia series by giving lucrative The Hundred contracts a miss.
“Some of our guys are saying no to half a million pounds for 20 days’ work to go and play those two Test matches against Bangladesh,” Pat Cummins had said a few months ago.
As Australia went on to be hammered by touring Bangladesh, the team’s preparations were bound to be questioned. But Cummins said that he had absolutely no complaints with the preparations.
“Probably that day one. You know, I thought our preparation was, you know, pretty much spot on. I thought it was excellent. So, yeah, no excuses. They played really well. You know, I thought the day one wicket was doing a little bit early, but obviously got to try and find a way to bat a little bit longer than we did, and then, yeah, just couldn’t penetrate with the ball. But, yeah, I thought they played really well,” he said.
READ | Bangladesh Stun Cricket World, Bag First-Ever Test Win On Australian Soil
When asked if change in personnel could be seen in the second Test, he didn’t rule out making major changes, but asked for calm on the topic, saying the team still needs time to reflect on what happened.
“I think every time there’s a game like this, you always kind of look at your match-ups and, you know, your make-up of the team for the next one. But, yeah, we only just finished, so we’ll have a think about it. You know, we’re pretty good at bouncing back, so no doubt the batters and every group will get together and have a good think about this one and where we can improve,” said the Australia skipper.
BIG REALITY CHECK FOR PAT CUMMINS & AUSTRALIA
Before Bangladesh test series:
Cummins: Some of our guys are saying no to half-a-million pounds for 20 days’ work to go and play those two Test matches against Bangladesh.
After such a confident statement from Pat,… pic.twitter.com/iS79Cmc6tr
— Sam (@cricsam02) August 16, 2026
Cummins also admitted that Bangladesh were better than Australia in all departments of the game, saying they truly deserved the result.
“Yeah, they did. I think they outplayed us in all facets, really. You know, I thought they were really patient and quite disciplined. And, yeah, once we were behind, it was really hard to get back,” he conceded.
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