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Captain Pat Cummins hailed Australia’s World Cup title as a legacy-defining triumph after a gruelling period overseas.
Australia have been mostly away from home since February this year, and have had fiercely fought Test series in India and England. They beat India at The Oval to win their first World Test Championship before retaining the Ashes in a tempestuous series.
With a core of their Test players at the 2023 ODI World Cup, Australia were in danger of running out of gas and they struggled initially with defeats to India and South Africa. But they steadily improved and got on a roll leading to an unforgettable six-wicket victory over favourites India in the final.
Some of Australia’s title-winning players returned home on Wednesday with their elation masking the weariness of an arduous campaign.
“Every half an hour or so you kind of remember that you just won a World Cup and get excited all over again. We’re still buzzing,” a bespectacled Cummins said at the Sydney Airport. “It’s been a big year. To top it off with this, it’s been amazing. I think they have created their own legacy. A World Cup, you only get one chance every four years and especially playing somewhere like India, it’s hard.
“Adding to that an away Ashes series, a World Test Championship. We couldn’t have planned for much better. So a pretty satisfied group.”
Some players, like Cummins, will have a breather before Australia’s Test summer begins in Perth against Pakistan on December 14. But for five players part of Sunday’s final, they have the tough task of fronting up for Australia’s five-match T20I series against India starting on Thursday.
Travis Head, player of the final after his belligerent century, is among Australia’s squad, but there are doubts over his availability for the opener after putting in long shifts leading into this five-match series.
“Heady was definitely in the votes,” grinned allrounder Mitchell Marsh, who spoke in Melbourne. “I’m not sure he’ll be playing that game. I’m no selector or coach but if he plays that game it will be a miracle.”
Marsh, who captained Australia’s T20 team in South Africa ahead of the World Cup, is not faced with the difficulty of trying to get up for the series. Instead, he plans to have a rest ahead of the Test summer even though he appears to be in a battle with Western Australia team-mate Cameron Green for the allrounder position.
“Tools down for a little while. Get home, see the family, relax, and get ready for the summer,” Marsh said. “Playing Pakistan who have played some great cricket this year…it’s always an exciting summer.”
After a spectacular century in the third Ashes Test, Marsh supplanted Green who missed the match due to a hamstring niggle. Green was supposed to figure prominently in Australia’s World Cup campaign, but played just three matches with the last being against England on November 4.
After making 47 in that match, Green said he wanted to play in WA’s Sheffield Shield match against Queensland in Brisbane starting on November 28 and also the subsequent Prime Minister’s XI four-day match against Pakistan in Canberra.
Test wicketkeeper-batter Alex Carey, who was dropped at the World Cup for Josh Inglis after the opening loss to India, said he would play for South Australia in their Shield match against Victoria next week.
“Looking forward to getting back out there,” he said. “I don’t feel like Test and ODI cricket overlap, but we’ll wait and see when the Test selection comes out.”
