Captain Fantastic Pat Cummins placed Australia in the driver’s seat with his sensational figures of 6/28 in the 2025 World Test Championship (WTC) final against South Africa. Captain Fantastic Pat Cummins placed Australia in the driver’s seat with his sensational figures of 6/28 in the 2025 World Test Championship (WTC) final against South Africa.
Cummins, who had a miserly one wicket on Day 1, spearheaded Australia’s attack on Day 2, helping the defending champions establish a lead of 74 over the first innings. Appearing in only his 68th Test, the 32-year-old, who has been playing since 2011, achieved the milestone of 300 wickets in the format as well.
He is the eighth Australian bowler to achieve this feat, after following in the footsteps of the legendary Shane Warne, Glenn McGrath, Nathan Lyon, Mitchell Starc, Dennis Lillee, Mitchell Johnson and Brett Lee.
He now holds the record for the most wickets taken in the ICC finals, breaking his teammate Mitchell Starc’s old record (11). Cummins had also broken India’s Mohammed Shami (8) record, as he is now among the leading bowlers with the most wickets in the WTC final.
He is also the only captain to claim 10 or more wickets in ICC finals. He now also holds the record for best bowling figures by a captain in an ICC title decider, bettering his own best of 3/82 against India in the 2023 WTC final.
On record, Cummins is the first captain to bag five or more wickets in an ICC final. The 32-year-old also holds the highest bowling figures by a captain at Lord’s, eclipsing Bob Wills’ record against India in 1992 (6/101).
Having sent Proteas captain Temba Bavuma packing, Cummins shattered the record held since long by compatriot Richie Benaud (18) for most opposition captains bowled out by an opposition captain in Test history. He has now bowled out an opposition captain 19 times in the longest format.
Return to the match, South Africa saw their last five wickets fall for 18 runs in 37 deliveries, handing Australia a significant lead in their bid to hold the WTC mace.
