The Australian Test skipper Pat Cummins has penned down his experience of leading the country in a historic tour of Pakistan. Remember, the Kangaroos made their way back to the country after 24 years, their last outing recorded in 1998. Australia has become the fourth country to tour Pakistan for playing the longest format game since cricket went into exile in 2009. The two teams are competing to clinch the Benaud-Qadir trophy.
In a post written for an Australian website codesports, the captain detailed his feelings as an individual and as a group. “A common theme among the players is how fortunate we are to be here when a whole generation of Australian cricketers never got to experience what it was to play in this part of the world,” wrote Cummins
Excited to know the Culture
Alien to the cultures and traditions of this part of the world, the team was excited to know more about its people and norms. Kept in the bio-bubbles to prevent any attacks from the coronavirus the team doesn’t get to go out much and explore, so the captain has put a very special player to do the honours of filling in on the details.
“I asked Usman Khawaja to put together a trivia quiz for the guys after we arrived to give them a better appreciation of the culture and history. The point of the exercise was to deepen our understanding of the country we’re in and its rich traditions.”
The pacer articulated his experience of hearing the call to prayers for the first time during practice. It was his first time learning change in rules of players for the day of Friday for the important daytime prayers, “There was a cool moment during training on Tuesday when the call to prayer from Rawalpindi echoed across the ground with the mountains off in the distance. I also found out that day that the first sessions on every Friday of this series will be two-and-a-half hours, with an hour-long lunch break for prayers, because it is the holy day of the week. We’re learning all the time over here.”
Appreciates the Security Provided
The Australian team is being provided with presidential security. Along with that stern measures have been placed in Rawalpindi/Islamabad to ensure the safety of players and the officials. Reflecting upon all the parameters the Aussie said it is a surreal experience for the entire group.
“I was told it was a 15,000-to-20,000 person operation to ferry us from the airport to the hotel here in Islamabad. I don’t doubt it. We’re fortunate that so many people have put in so much effort to allow us to enjoy our cricket here,”
“The boys were a bit lost for words when we hopped off the flight from Melbourne to Islamabad and straight into a military-style bus on the tarmac. They were tapping the windows because they were five or six inches thick! None of us had experienced anything quite like it before. It was also quite surreal when we took the 10-minute drive from the hotel to the stadium in Rawalpindi on Tuesday. The entire route had been shut down. No people except for security personnel. Roller doors down on all the shops,”
How the Team is spending time
The squad pre-occupies itself with games, golf and of course coffee. The security and covid protocols have forced players in their hotel rooms but that doesn’t mean they can’t enjoy and have fun.
“In addition to the PlayStations and card games, we’ve brought a basketball ring and hired a golf simulator with a big projector and nets that we’re going to roll up and take with us around the country. Marnus has also brought with him a full-on commercial coffee machine, 30 kilos of beans and about 1000 litres of oat milk. It’s a proper setup. He even does the whole latte art-thing with the love heart in the milk,”
“But it’s all a bit of fun. It’s important to not have everyone locked up in their rooms all day and these things help to build camaraderie.”
All in all, this is going to be a great Test match series. Australia will play three Tests, three ODIs and one T20. The tour begins on March 4th.
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