{"id":892565,"date":"2026-09-15T06:26:17","date_gmt":"2026-09-15T06:26:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/892565\/"},"modified":"2026-09-15T06:26:17","modified_gmt":"2026-09-15T06:26:17","slug":"skippers-eight-word-explainer-for-bangladesh-nightmare-and-bold-sa-tour-forecast","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/892565\/","title":{"rendered":"Skipper\u2019s eight-word explainer for Bangladesh nightmare \u2026 and bold SA tour forecast"},"content":{"rendered":"

Australian Test captain Pat Cummins doesn\u2019t believe lacklustre preparation was what cost his team in their shock Test loss to Bangladesh in August.<\/p>\n

The Aussies were dealt one of the greatest upsets in cricket history as a poor batting performance saw the Tigers claim a historic victory by nine wickets, before the favourites bounced back to win a two-day second Test by an innings.<\/p>\n

But Cummins believes the team would have prepared exactly the same had it been for the Ashes instead of an off-Broadway series in the north of Australia.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Watch Zimbabwe vs Australia ODI Series Live & Exclusive on Fox Cricket, available on Kayo Sports | New to Kayo? Join now and get your first month for just $1.<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cWhether that was an Ashes Test or a Bangladesh series, I think we would have prepped exactly the same,\u201d Cummins told the Keepin\u2019 it Cricket<\/a>podcast, hosted by Adam Peacock and former Australian women\u2019s captain Alyssa Healy.<\/p>\n

\u201cOf course you look at it after the series, but I actually thought we were in a really good spot; everyone fit, firing.\u201d<\/p>\n

When asked what had contributed to the shock loss, the 33-year old had a blunt response.<\/p>\n

\u201cI just don\u2019t think we played very well,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think it was a lack of prep. I just don\u2019t think we were at our best, and Bangladesh played brilliantly, and didn\u2019t really let us in.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pat Cummins leads his teammates off Marrara Oval during Australia\u2019s shock loss to Bangladesh. (Photo by William WEST \/ AFP)Source: AFP<\/p>\n

The Test team\u2019s next assignment is a blockbuster three-Test series in South Africa, which will be broadcast live and exclusively on Fox Cricket in October.<\/p>\n

ULTIMATE GUIDE: Everything you need to know for Australia\u2019s tour of Zimbabwe & South Africa<\/a><\/p>\n

Cummins will not take part in a pre-series run of three ODIs against Zimbabwe, which begins on Tuesday evening (AEST) in order to remain fresh for the major campaign.<\/p>\n

The series is Australia\u2019s first time playing Tests in the country since the Sandpapergate scandal of 2025, which the fast bowler emerged from as a shining light.<\/p>\n

But Cummins believes for the majority of the crowd \u2013 and certainly for the players \u2013 the ball-tampering saga is water under the bridge.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere might be a little bit of hostility,\u201d he admitted.<\/p>\n

\u201c(But) it can\u2019t be louder than an Ashes series \u2026 Birmingham, the Hollies Stand at Edgbaston, that gets pretty rowdy. <\/p>\n

Pat Cummins was a standout performer throughout Australia\u2019s disastrous tour of South Africa in 2018. (Photo by Lee Warren\/Gallo Images\/Getty Images)Source: Getty Images<\/p>\n

\u201cAs long as I\u2019ve been to South Africa, there\u2019s some parts of the crowd that get stuck in, but I reckon we\u2019ve seen it all before.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd most importantly, I\u2019m captain, so I\u2019m in the middle, I\u2019m not near the fence!\u201d<\/p>\n

Cummins said his experience playing ODIs in South Africa since 2018 \u2013 the white-ball team has regularly toured \u2013 suggests the crowds won\u2019t be any more animated than usual.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt (Sandpapergate) was kind of really spoken up (in past series), and it was almost a bit underwhelming,\u201d Cummins said of the local reaction. <\/p>\n

\u201cEveryone moves on. The good thing is, three Tests, you get stuck into the cricket, and everyone just worries about the cricket pretty quickly. <\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m sure there\u2019ll be some rowdy people in the crowd, and some articles or some media bring up stuff.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut our group\u2019s moved on.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Australian Test captain Pat Cummins doesn\u2019t believe lacklustre preparation was what cost his team in their shock Test…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":892566,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[64,63,44,85],"class_list":["post-892565","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-australia","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-news","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/892565","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=892565"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/892565\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/892566"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=892565"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=892565"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=892565"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}