Nothing more satisfying than a big crowd go silent: Pat Cummins
Australia’s biggest challenge in the final of the 2023 ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup will be to play in front of the anticipated 1.3 lakh crowd at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. The world’s largest cricket stadium is expected to be filled for the final showdown on November 19, Sunday, when India and Australia compete for the coveted trophy.
During the pre-match press conference on Saturday, Australia captain Pat Cummins discussed his team’s expectations regarding the Ahmedabad crowd. The 30-year-old pacer mentioned that Australia are aware the crowd against India will be one-sided, but their objective is to silence it.
“I think you’ve got to embrace it. The crowd’s obviously going to be very one-sided but it’s also in sport there’s nothing more satisfying than hearing a big crowd go silent and that’s the aim for us tomorrow. Yeah, you’ve just got to embrace every part of it, every part of a final even you know in the lead-up there’s going to be noise and more people and interest and you just can’t get overwhelmed. You got to be up for it, you got to love it and just know whatever happens it’s fine but you just want to finish the day with no regrets,” Pat Cummins told in a video released by the ICC.
Cummins then reflected on their group-stage encounter with India, acknowledging the Men in Blue’s impressive performances in the tournament. He admitted that Australia did not perform well during that particular match but highlighted their success in the ODI series against India prior to the World Cup.
“They’ve certainly played really well this World Cup. I think we certainly didn’t – I don’t think we scored par in that first game but we’re one catch away from potentially being in front of that game. We won an ODI series here early on in the year. There’s lots of moments we can draw on where we’ve had success against, you know, a really good Indian side,” the Aussie captain added.
We’re lucky, we’ve got a 15-man squad who we feel anyone can step in and perform: Cummins
Regarding Australia’s playing XI for the crucial match, Cummins mentioned that discussions are ongoing about including all-rounders Marcus Stoinis and Cameron Green, with a final decision expected by Saturday night. He emphasised that Australia have a strong 15-man squad, and they believe anyone from the squad can step in and deliver.
“Potentially yeah, those are things (Stoinis and Green’s inclusion) we weigh up before every game. We’re lucky, we’ve got a 15-man squad who we feel anyone can step in and perform. They’re all ready to go. So, like every other game, we go through a process where coaches get together and chat through what they think or how they think the game’s going to go about and then the selectors obviously pick the final 11,” Cummins further said.
