Pat Cummins has been the standout bowler of Australia's one-day international series with England, but he can't do it all on his own, warns Glenn Maxwell.
The World Cup winners are in danger of leaving English soil with nothing after a gruelling three-month campaign in which they have handed back the Ashes urn and lost the sole Twenty20 match before the five-game ODI series.
The blame can't be laid at the feet of Cummins.
The series-leading wicket-taker finished with career-best figures of 4-49 in Friday's tight loss at Headingley.
Even prior to the world's No.1-ranked ODI bowler Mitchell Starc being rested, Cummins has been Australia's most-threatening quick throughout the series - which goes on the line on Sunday in the fifth and deciding clash at Old Trafford in Manchester.
But he needs support from his fellow frontline bowlers, something Maxwell notes Cummins did not receive at Headingley.
After leading the series 2-0, Australia's support bowlers have gone missing in worrying fashion - James Pattinson is wicketless through two games, Starc dropped career-worst figures in the heavy game-three defeat in Manchester and John Hastings was no match for Eoin Morgan's power-hitting on Friday.
Combined, the three have taken 1-244 from 31.2 overs in Australia's two losses - in that time, Cummins has 6-99, taking his series tally to 13.
"It'd be nice to have two of him ... I think the rest of our attack is missing at the moment," Maxwell said.
"It's all good having a guy that's bowling 90mph and beating the bat regularly and creating chances but, if they can see him out and score off the other guys, it's a bit null and void, I think.
"We've just got to have some guys backing him up and helping him out because, at the moment, it's sort of a one-man show with the bowling, and we're scraping together with the batting."
Australia charged to their World Cup triumph this year on the back of exceptional bowling as much as explosive batting.
Starc was named man of the tournament following his extraordinary month in which he took 22 wickets at 10 in eight games.
Mitchell Johnson, rested for this ODI series, took 15 wickets while allrounder James Faulkner, who copped a four-match ban for drink-driving and had since injured his finger, claimed 10.
"Unfortunately, the partnership bowling we built up during the World Cup and through the last 18 months, we haven't really hit that this tournament," Maxwell said.
"We seem to have bowled one good over, one sloppy over, one good over, one sloppy over.
"And it's different people at different times, myself included - I've been guilty of that."
Maxwell believes the key is a fast start.
"It feels like every game, were clawing our way back after the first 10 after giving them the start," he said.
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