Some six and a half years and umpteen setbacks after his eye-catching Test debut in South Africa, Pat Cummins showcased his resilience during a seven-over spell in the same country.
Cummins set the bar incredibly high as an 18-year-old in 2011, earning man-of-the-match honours when he snared seven wickets and hit the winning runs in a Test at the Wanderers.
The express pacemen suffered a series of serious injuries and had to wait until 2017 to play a second Test, but he is now the fittest member of Australia's pace attack.
The current Test in Cape Town is Cummins' 12th straight, a streak that betters both Mitchell Starc (four) and Josh Hazlewood (eight).
The 24-year-old is no longer being wrapped in cotton wool, as he proved in a game-changing burst on day one of the third Test in Cape Town.
Cummins steamed in for seven straight overs, capturing the key scalps of AB de Villiers, Faf du Plessis, Temba Bavuma and Quinton de Kock to turn the game on its head.
"Wickets always make the legs feel a little bit fresher," the right-armer said.
"I don't think he (Steve Smith) could have got the ball out of my hand. He was good, he just kept asking if I was good for another one.
"My body at the moment I don't have to think about anywhere as much as I used to. I just go out there and try and bowl as fast as I can in each spell."
Conditions in Cape Town weren't nearly as crippling as those in Chittagong last year, when Cummins was Australia's sole paceman in a Test against Bangladesh and lost 6.5 kilograms because of extreme heat and humidity.
But Cummins is in the midst of big workload, having surprised himself by playing all five Tests against England during the recent summer.
"A four-Test series at the back of a five-Test series is hard work but I just have to concentrate on staying fresh and bowling well, rather than any injuries," he said.
"As bowlers, (we) quite like long spells because it normally means you're into a rhythm. I was probably lucky, it cooled down a bit towards the end of the day.
"It wasn't too much of an issue getting through a spell."
Cummins worked both du Plessis and Bavuma over beautifully on Thursday, creating apprehension in the batsmen's minds then earning the reward when they prodded forward to pinpoint deliveries.
De Kock's downfall was a loose pull stroke, with the edge flying straight to Tim Paine, while de Villiers chipped a catch to David Warner at mid-off.
Share
