Australia captain Pat Cummins is a leader who does not make excuses, and after Australia's humiliating nine-wicket defeat to Bangladesh in the first Test in Darwin on Sunday, he credited the visiting team while acknowledging that Australia lost its way on the opening day of the match.
Earlier this year, in March, Cummins emphasised the sacrifices his teammates made by foregoing lucrative contracts in The Hundred to adequately prepare for the Australia series.
"Some of our guys are saying no to half a million pounds for 20 days' work to go and play those two Test matches against Bangladesh," Pat Cummins had said a few months ago.
As Australia found themselves on the receiving end of a hammering from touring Bangladesh, questions over the team's preparations were only natural. Cummins, however, was clear that he had no complaints on that front.
"Probably that day one. You know, I thought our preparation was, you know, pretty much spot on. I thought it was excellent. So, yeah, no excuses."
"They played really well. You know, I thought the day one wicket was doing a little bit early, but obviously got to try and find a way to bat a little bit longer than we did, and then, yeah, just couldn't penetrate with the ball. But, yeah, I thought they played really well," he said.
Asked whether the second Test could see changes in the playing XI, he didn't rule out the possibility of major alterations, but urged some patience on the matter, saying the team still needed time to sit with what had happened and reflect.
"I think every time there's a game like this, you always kind of look at your match-ups and, you know, your make-up of the team for the next one. But, yeah, we only just finished, so we'll have a think about it. You know, we're pretty good at bouncing back, so no doubt the batters and every group will get together and have a good think about this one and where we can improve," said the Australia skipper.
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Cummins also didn't shy away from crediting the opposition, acknowledging that Bangladesh had been the better side across all departments of the game and had thoroughly deserved the result.
"Yeah, they did. I think they outplayed us in all facets, really. You know, I thought they were really patient and quite disciplined. And, yeah, once we were behind, it was really hard to get back," he conceded.
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