World Cup 2023: Every game now becomes almost like a final for us, says Australia captain Pat Cummins

Australia captain Pat Cummins admitted that his team was forced to treat every World Cup match as a final due to their awful start to the tournament. However, Cummins also said.

That the Australian team was determined to excel against opponents they have historically fared well against. Australia suffered a demoralizing loss to India in their first match, followed by a 134-run defeat to South Africa on October 12.

This has placed the Australians in a challenging position, as they must now win at least six of their remaining seven games to secure a spot in the semifinals. Nevertheless, Cummins remains calm and resolute, refraining from any premature panic.

“Looking back at 2019, India and South Africa were the two teams that we lost to in the round games there. In the last year, they’re kind of the two teams that we’ve had the most trouble against.

“So, the opportunity now is we’ve got some teams we haven’t played for a while that we’ve had a lot of success against and be really confident when we go out there,” Cummins said on the eve of the match against Sri Lanka in Lucknow.

“Not an ideal start at all. Everyone’s desperate to turn it around. We’re obviously 0-2, so we’ve got to start winning and start winning quick. Every game now becomes almost like a final. You’ve got to win just about all of them.”

Australia is the most successful team in tournament history, but the current squad has a history of underwhelming performances.

“No doubt we haven’t been up to the standard that we like to hold. We’ve been off the mark and been outplayed both games. When we’re at our best, we’re putting big runs on the board. We’re putting the pressure back into the opposition.

“Us bowlers are taking wickets through the middle. So, we haven’t been able to pull any of that together so far. So yeah, we know what makes us a really good team.

“Again, it wasn’t that long ago. We’re number one in the world. So, we don’t have to look back too far to work out when we’re playing our best,” Cummins added.