ICC World Cup 2019 | We just didnât play our best against England, says Pat Cummins
Australian pacer Pat Cummins has stated that Australia simply didnât bring their best game out against England in the semi-final. After beating England in the league stages, Australia crumbled like nine pins in the game that mattered the most to get knocked out of the tournament.
Australia were boosted by David Warner and Steve Smithâs return but that wasnât enough to sculpt a spot in the finals as they endured a seven-wicket defeat at the hands of tournament-favourites England.Â
Pat Cummins feels that despite not playing up to their potential, Australia won a lot of games in the league stages and needed to produce the perfect game against England in the semi-final.Â
"We managed to win games without playing our perfect game. Every time we finished games, we spoke about areas we can improve on. We got better the whole way through. Against South Africa, we got a few things wrong and still almost won. Today we just didn't play our best,â said Cummmins, reported Cricketnext.
Cummins also spoke how the perfect game that Australia were always chasing just didnât come. Australia were also marred by injuries, which didnât help their cause but the replacements did extremely well.Â
"The thing going into this game was just the excitement and to give ourselves the best chance to come to the semifinal. We did that, played exactly how we wanted to (in the league stage). We were always chasing the perfect game, it just didn't come. We probably needed that today. But really proud of how we've all played. We've had a few injuries but the new guys have come in, it's been a great group."
Australia only managed to post a modest total of 223 while batting first in batting-friendly conditions of Edgbaston, which wasnât enough to contain the star-studded English attack. Jason Roy powered Englandâs run-chase with a gritty 85 as England sculpted a spot in the final after 27 long years.Â
"It's really hard with a total like that. If you're defending 200 odd and you don't get an early wicket, they can play with a lot of freedom. We wanted to bowl with a lot of energy, try and get a couple of wickets. Didn't happen, pretty tough from there,â Cummins added.
