Australia captain Pat Cummins continued his dominance over England’s star batsman Joe Root on the second day of the third Test at the Adelaide Oval (Thursday, December 18). The right-arm fast bowler took the wicket of Root for the 12th time in Test cricket and during this he left behind bowlers like Jasprit Bumrah and Mitchell Starc.
Cummins returned to competitive action after more than five months. Australia’s captain recovered from back and hamstring injuries. As a precaution, he could not play in the first two Tests of the Ashes series. Star batsman Steve Smith stepped in as captain and gave the Men in Blue an unassailable 2-0 lead.
Pat Cummins made immediate impact on return in Adelaide Test
Pat Cummins made an immediate impact on his return as Australia extended their advantage in the Adelaide Test. With Australia all out for 371, Cummins took the new ball and immediately destabilized England’s top order. He replaced Jack Crawley early to ensure success.
England fell further behind when Nathan Lyon struck twice in the same over, leaving them with three wickets for 42 runs despite a good start. After this, Joe Root and Harry Brook tried to handle the innings and their partnership was important for England’s comeback.
Cummins stepped up again at a crucial moment and dismissed Root shortly after lunch. The former England captain had to return to the dressing room after scoring 19 runs off 31 balls, leaving England struggling at 71 for 4.
Pat Cummins got the prized wicket of Joe Root just after lunch!#ash , #PlayoftheDay , @nrmainsurance pic.twitter.com/2iRnD0Wcs3
– cricket.com.au (@cricketcomau) 18 December 2025
Pat Cummins has become the leading bowler to dismiss Joe Root in Tests.
Cummins overtook Joe Root for the 12th time in Test cricket. It is noteworthy that he has become the bowler who has dismissed Root the most number of times in this format.
Cummins left Jasprit Bumrah and Mitchell Starc behind, who have dismissed Root 11 times each. Josh Hazlewood is the only other bowler to reach double figures with 10 dismissals.
Bowlers who dismissed Joe Root the most in Tests:
| Post | bowler | Country | Hunt |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | pat cummins | Australia | 12 |
| 2 | Jasprit Bumrah | India | 11 |
| 3 | Mitchell Starc | Australia | 11 |
| 4 | Josh Hazlewood | Australia | 10 |
| 5 | Ravindra Jadeja | India | 9 |
Joe Root is one of the greatest players of all time – Justin Langer
Former Australia batsman Justin Langer said that England’s batsmen are not moving their feet enough, making things very difficult against quality bowling in Australia. He also said that Pat Cummins has dismissed Joe Root 12 times in Test cricket and this is a matter of great concern for England.
“England’s footwork – they’re going nowhere. In Australia if you don’t get your feet in the right position you are useless against really good bowling,” Langer said.
“Joe Root is a master, he’s one of the greatest players of all time and Cummins has dismissed him 12 times in Test cricket, great, but if I was in the England camp it would be something that would be really worrying me,” he said.
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