{"id":722,"date":"2026-10-27T11:42:56","date_gmt":"2026-10-27T11:42:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cricketkidunyya.com\/index.php\/2026\/10\/27\/pat-cummins-australia-slammed-for-opting-to-bowl-first-at-cape-town\/"},"modified":"2026-10-27T11:42:56","modified_gmt":"2026-10-27T11:42:56","slug":"pat-cummins-australia-slammed-for-opting-to-bowl-first-at-cape-town","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cricketkidunyya.com\/index.php\/2026\/10\/27\/pat-cummins-australia-slammed-for-opting-to-bowl-first-at-cape-town\/","title":{"rendered":"Pat Cummins, Australia slammed for opting to bowl first at Cape Town"},"content":{"rendered":"

Last Updated on 2 hours ago by Charbel Coorey<\/a><\/p>\n

The deciding Test against South Africa could not have started worse for Australia<\/a>. Pat Cummins\u2019 decision to bowl first in glorious batting conditions in Cape Town did not pay early dividends, with the hosts racing along to 140\/0 by lunch.<\/p>\n

Marques Ackerman, playing just his second Test, had his way with the loose Australian attack. He raced to 82 off 75 balls with 11 fours and two sixes in the first session. He was eventually dismissed for 95 off 94 balls, stumped off the bowling off Nathan Lyon.<\/p>\n

Aiden Markram was also fluent for the most part, hitting 56 off 87 balls before lunch. Australia opted to play their main four bowlers and leave Scott Boland out, only to bowl both sides of the wicket and err short on a regular basis. With runs flowing, Travis Head shelled an easy chance off Markram in the 23rd over to sum up an awful opening session for Australia.<\/p>\n

Fans, pundits slam Australia & Pat Cummins for opting to bowl first in Cape Town<\/strong><\/h2>\n

\u201cIt was an irrational decision,\u201d said Kerry O\u2019Keeffe on Fox Cricket regarding Australia\u2019s decision to bowl first. Markram and Ackerman regularly drove on the up in a sign of how good the pitch is for batting.<\/p>\n

Boland, who was comfortably Australia\u2019s best performer in Gqeberha, was left out for Nathan Lyon. Instead of opting to bowl last on a dry pitch, Cummins put South Africa in and turned to the offspinner in the 11th over. Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood and Pat Cummins had extracted no movement in the air or off the surface with the new ball.<\/p>\n

Fans on social media were all over it, labelling the decision as Cummins\u2019 \u201cNasser Hussain moment.\u201d Hussan infamously opted to bowl first at the Gabba in 2002 before Australia piled up 364\/2 on day one. If South Africa<\/a> continue on their merry way, they could rack up a similar score on the opening day at Cape Town.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis feels like Nasser in Brisbane decision,\u201d said Michael Vaughan on X (formerly Twitter). Fans also shared similar sentiments.<\/p>\n

\u201cAustralia picked Lyon expecting the pitch to assist spin on Days 4 and 5, yet somehow decided to bowl first. To make matters worse, they dropped Boland, their best bowler from the previous match,\u201d wrote one fan.<\/p>\n

\u201cCummins clearly doesn\u2019t trust his batsmen. This is a flat deck and he opted to bowl,\u201d wrote another.<\/p>\n

Here are some of the reactions to Australia\u2019s decision at the toss.<\/p>\n

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This feels like Nasser in Brisbane decision \u2026 #JustSaying<\/a> #SAvAUS<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Michael Vaughan (@MichaelVaughan) October 27, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

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Pat Cummins having his very own Nasser Hussain moment<\/p>\n

\u2014 Adam Bell \"\ud83c\uddf3\ud83c\uddff\"\"\ud83c\uddee\ud83c\uddf9\" (@AdamKerrBell) October 27, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

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Update: this is a disaster #SAvAUS<\/a> https:\/\/t.co\/08y8LVH5fH<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Ronny Lerner (@RonnyLerner) October 27, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

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Is this Australian cricket\u2019s Nasser Hussain moment? <\/p>\n

So defensive from Pat Cummins.<\/p>\n

Blue skies, flat wicket. <\/p>\n

Proteas win the opening half hour: 0-24.<\/p>\n

\u2014 Christy Doran (@ChristypDoran) October 27, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

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Why the F$#@ would u bowl on that track in Cape town? OmG. We’ve just lost the series. Who decided that????? WTF????@cricketcomau<\/a> @CricketAus<\/a> #SouthAfrica<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Chris Smith (@chrissmithonair) October 27, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

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Cummins choosing to bowl first goes past Sandpapergate as Australian cricket’s most embarrassing moment at Newlands. #SAvAUS<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Anthony Leach (@ahleach) October 27, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

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#SAvAUS<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/pLGFmxPDCc<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Andrew McGlashan (@andymcg_cricket) October 27, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

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Its looking a massive brain explosion to bowl first. The pitch didn’t look a nightmare before the toss but its done nothing. Zero faith in the batting line-up & Aust will have to bat last on a pitch that will spin. Double whammy from Aussies. They need to \"\ud83d\ude4f\" for wickets #RSAvAUS<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Bernie Coen (@berniecoen) October 27, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

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Pat Cummins wins the toss, bowls first, Aiden Markram dumps his fifth ball into the stands for six on what looks like a road. You’d worry wouldn’t you<\/p>\n

\u2014 Ben Jones (@benjonescricket) October 27, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

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That toss by decision by Cummins incongruent with selection no?<\/p>\n

Bring in Connolly and Lyon and then bowl first on a pretty brownish deck? They would’ve known there was a pretty high chance they bowl first if that’s what they were going to do.<\/p>\n

\u2014 Tom O’Neil (@thomasjameoneil) October 27, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

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South Africa sent in<\/p>\n

Lyon bowling the 11th over of the Test<\/p>\n

\u2014 \"\ud83c\udf99\"QUENTIN HULL (@QuentinHull) October 27, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

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Heads have to roll for this.<\/p>\n

McDonald, Bailey, Cummins.<\/p>\n

Cummins\u2019 captaincy when under pressure has been found wanting a few times.<\/p>\n

McDonald and Bailey have lost the faith of almost everyone on here with selection.<\/p>\n

They would\u2019ve all been involved in this decision.#SAvAUS<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Matthew Stone (@stone1_matthew) October 27, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

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Cummins clearly doesn’t trust his batsmen. This is a flat deck and he opted to bowl \"\ud83e\udd26\"<\/p>\n

\u2014 tea_addIct (@on_drive2306) October 27, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

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Bowling first here was insanity. Absolutely nothing in it for the bowlers.<\/p>\n

\u2014 Neal Gardner (@Nealbackup) October 27, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

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Interesting decision to bowl Australia<\/p>\n

\u2014 Tony Steele (@tds122) October 27, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

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Australia chose to bowl first. Let’s all laugh at Australia. Hahahahahahahahahahaha\u2026 #SAvAUS<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Nikhil Mehra (@TweetinderKaul) October 27, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

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Starc bowling round the wicket in his 3rd over is concerning.<\/p>\n

\u2014 Nathan Watson (@N_Watson_) October 27, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

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Bowling first in this Test is probably the dumbest thing an Australian team has ever done in South Africa#SAvAUS<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 These Daves (@TheseDaves1) October 27, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

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Australia picked Lyon expecting the pitch to assist spin on Days 4 and 5, yet somehow decided to bowl first. To make matters worse, they dropped Boland, their best bowler from the previous match.<\/p>\n

The Australian management deserves an Oscar for such brilliant decision-making.<\/p>\n

\u2014 India Spectator (@IndiaSpectator1) October 27, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

At the time of writing, South Africa are 158\/1 in the 33rd over.<\/p>\n

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The post Pat Cummins, Australia slammed for opting to bowl first at Cape Town<\/a> appeared first on CricBlog<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Last Updated on 2 hours ago by Charbel Coorey The deciding Test against South Africa could not have started worse for Australia. Pat Cummins\u2019 decision to bowl first in glorious batting conditions in Cape Town did not pay early dividends, with the hosts racing along to 140\/0 by lunch. Marques Ackerman, playing just his second […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-722","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-blog"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cricketkidunyya.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/722","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cricketkidunyya.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cricketkidunyya.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cricketkidunyya.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cricketkidunyya.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=722"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/cricketkidunyya.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/722\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cricketkidunyya.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=722"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cricketkidunyya.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=722"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cricketkidunyya.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=722"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}