Pat Cummins explains the key reason why Australia can triumph at the Cricket World Cup ahead of his side’s semi-final with South Africa
- Pat Cummins believes Australia can win the World Cup
- He says the team can use past glories to build on them
- Australia will play South Africa in the semi-final on Thursday
Australia captain Pat Cummins is confident the five-time World Cup winners can use past experience from the marquee event to their advantage when they take on South Africa in Calcutta.
Cummins’ side have been on a roll since Thursday’s defeat to tournament hosts India and their opponents, winning their remaining seven group stage matches to storm into another semi-final.
South Africa might have had the upper hand in Lucknow and in an ODI series between the teams in September, but Australia has significantly more experience than the Proteas in the knockouts of a major tournament.
Cummins, David Warner, Steve Smith, Mitch Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood were part of the 2015 trophy-winning campaign, as well as the T20 World Cup triumph two years ago.
The Australia captain said: “What helps us is that we have a lot of guys who have been in this situation before and who have had big moments, winning the One-Day World Cup, the T20 World Cup and several other tournaments.
Pat Cummins has revealed why he thinks Australia can triumph at the Cricket World Cup
‘You can draw on that in the middle of the match. Naturally, you start from scratch every time you play. It is a team that we have played against a lot and that we know very well.
“But this week it will probably be very different to call the South African series that we just played a few months ago.”
Australia memorably defeated South Africa at the same stage in 1999 at Edgbaston, where a draw went the way of Steve Waugh’s side as they finished higher in the group stage in terms of net run-rate.
The final is one of the most repeated of all time as Allan Donald was chaotically exhausted despite South Africa still having two balls to get the solitary run they needed for victory.
Cummins said: ‘It’s kind of folklore, isn’t it? I’ve seen that repetition many times, you hear the stories.’
The ODI captain believes Australia’s past glories can inspire them in India
India’s confidence in Australia has been steadily growing, encouraged by Maxwell’s rescue against Afghanistan, as his 201 not out secured a dramatic victory and was widely hailed as the best ODI knock ever.
Marsh secured a seventh straight win with an unbeaten 177 against Bangladesh, so Australia will head into the Eden Gardens showdown with plenty of optimism.
Cummins added: “As a team you grow an extra leg because you feel like you can win a game anywhere and having someone like Maxi in your team is just a complete luxury. He’s a superstar, he’s a freak.’