Pat Cummins made a spectacular comeback to Test cricket and delivered a strong performance in the ongoing third Test of the Ashes 2025-26 against England at the Adelaide Oval in Adelaide that was special for both Australia and his own career.
The Australian captain missed the first two Tests of the ongoing Ashes 2025-26 due to fitness issues, but showed no signs of rust as he led the bowling attack with confidence and control in the ongoing third Test against England at the Adelaide Oval.
In reply to Australia’s first innings score of 371, England were all out for 286 and Cummins played a big role in that collapse. He took three key wickets and took 3 for 69 runs in 17 overs. His spell kept the pressure on the England batsmen in the first innings.
Pat Cummins returns to vigorous action
This spell also helped Cummins reach a big position. With these three wickets, he became Australia’s seventh-highest wicket-taker in Test cricket, surpassing fast bowling legend Brett Lee. The great Australian fast bowler retired in 2008 with 310 wickets in 76 Test matches.
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Pat Cummins, playing his 72nd Test, now has 312 wickets in his name at an excellent average of 22.10. Late spin wizard Shane Warne tops the list of Australia’s all-time Test wicket-takers with an incredible 708 wickets. Cummins has also made a strong record in the Ashes.
The tall fast bowler now has 94 wickets in 20 Ashes Tests at an average of 24.07, which also includes the feat of taking five wickets twice. His record at home is better, having scored 180 runs at an excellent average of 19.97. As captain, Cummins has so far taken 148 Test wickets at an average of 22.67.
England fans angry after coach helps Pat Cummins before record spell
Surprisingly, Cummins was helped by the England coaching staff to return to his best bowling form in the ongoing third Ashes Test in Adelaide. On Thursday morning, England spin bowling coach Jeetan Patel was seen helping the Australian captain during practice at the Adelaide Oval.
Patel was gloved to Cummins’ warm-up balls before the start of the second day’s play, surprising England fans who did not expect to see the England coach assisting the opposition captain in any way. The clip quickly went viral on social media and English fans reacted angrily.
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Many fans believe that Patel should not have helped Cummins, especially considering how intense and emotional the Ashes rivalry is, and they are currently on the verge of losing another series.
The spirit of cricket is alive and kicking in this Ashes series. Here England prop Jeetan Patel plays with the gloves on Pat Cummins’ warm-up balls before the game on Thursday morning pic.twitter.com/eIvdZN2Y82
– Louis Cameron (@LouisDBCameron) 17 December 2025
Pat Cummins breaks world record by dismissing Joe Root in Adelaide
Notably, Pat Cummins has registered his name in the record books by removing Joe Root for the 12th time in Tests. The Australian captain achieved something that no bowler in the world had ever been able to do before. By dismissing Root in Adelaide, Cummins has become the bowler who has dismissed Root the most.
England had expectations from Root, one of the finest batsmen of the modern era and the second highest run scorer in Test cricket history after Sachin Tendulkar, but Cummins knows how to silence them.
Earlier, Cummins was sharing this record with India’s Jasprit Bumrah and his Australian teammate Mitchell Starc. These three had dismissed Root 11-11 times. Now Cummins has gone ahead of both of them.
