Pat Cummins, the captain of the Australian Test team, has sadly lost his mother, Maria, to illness. She had been in palliative care since last month, and the Test captain had flown home after Australia’s second Test defeat against India in Delhi. Cummins missed the third Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Indore and is not part of the fourth and final Test match at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.
Cricket Australia’s Twitter account announced the sad news of Maria’s passing. It confirmed that Australian players would wear black armbands on Day 2 of the current Test against India as a sign of respect. The post read:
Pat Cummins’ mother was reportedly diagnosed with breast cancer in 2005 and had been struggling with a severe illness recently. This prompted the Australian captain to return home from India to be with his mother, who he revealed had inspired him: “I feel I am best being here with my family. I appreciate the overwhelming support I have received from Cricket Australia and my teammates. Thanks for your understanding.”
Australia’s domination over Day 1 of the Ahmedabad Test
On Day 1 of the Ahmedabad Test between Australia and India, Khawaja struck his fourteenth Test century. With an unbeaten 85-run fifth-wicket partnership between Khawaja and Green, the visitors concluded the day in a more advantageous position. At the post-game press conference, Khawaja expressed his sentiment regarding his efforts:
“I don’t think I’ve ever smiled so much on getting a century, there was emotion in it, I’ve done two tours of India before, carried the drinks for eight Test matches before I got a chance here. Throughout the middle of my career I got told I couldn’t play spin and that’s why I never got an opportunity to play in India.
“It’s just nice to go out there and tick off a hundred in India which was something if you asked me five years ago if you told me that I’d think you were crazy. There was a lot of emotion, I just never expected this to happen.”
