Pat Cummins breaks these records in Australia's historic Edgbaston win
Australia beat England in a thrilling 1st Ashes 2023 Test at Edgbaston. The visitors, who were 209/7 at one stage, chased down 281 in a nail-biting finish. Australia resumed at 107/3 (Day 5), but they faltered after Usman Khawaja departed for 65. Pat Cummins and Nathan Lyon drove Australia to the finish line. The Australian skipper scored the winning runs, having defied the odds.
Match-winning effort from Cummins
Australian skipper Cummins led from the front in the second innings. After taking a match-defining four-wicket haul (4/63), Cummins turned it around with the bat. He came to the middle after Australia were tottering on 209/7 while chasing 281. The Australian captain slammed an unbeaten 44(73) and took the Aussies to the finish line along with Lyon (16*).
Highest score at number nine or lower in successful chase
As stated, Cummins played a match-winning knock for Australia - an unbeaten 44 off 73 balls. This is now the highest score at number nine or lower in a successful run-chase in Test cricket. He broke the record of Indian all-rounder Ravichandran Ashwin, whose unbeaten 42 off 62 balls propelled India to victory against Bangladesh in 2022 (2nd Test).
Cummins replicates his feat
This was the first instance of Australia chasing 250+ runs in Tests in over a decade. The Aussies last did so in 2011 against South Africa in Johannesburg. Australia chased down 310 and won by two wickets, as was the case at Edgbaston. As he did at Edgbaston, Cummins scored the winning runs in that match. Notably, that was his debut Test match.
Cummins shared a record-breaking partnership with Lyon
Cummins also had the support of Lyon, who smashed a brilliant 16*(28). The duo added an unbeaten 55, the second-highest ninth-wicket partnership in a successful run-chase for Australia. Tibby Cotter and Gerry Hazlitt added an unbeaten 56-run ninth-wicket stand in 1907 (chased 274).
Other records broken by Cummins
Before this Test, Cummins last recorded a 35+ score in December 2018. The Australian skipper has fared well with the bat ever since. He also smashed a 14-ball half-century in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022. Cummins smashed a total of five sixes in the match, the most he has hit in a match in Test history.
