Cummins hails Starc, Boland after heroic performance in Kingston

Mitchell Starc and Scott Boland wreaked havoc with the pink ball as Australia seized a monumental win over the West Indies at Sabina Park. It was a milestone-filled outing for left-arm quick Starc in his landmark 100th Test, as he registered the fastest five-wicket haul in Test history in just 15 balls and returned career-best figures of 6/9.

Boland soon joined the party, grabbing a sensational hat-trick to skittle West Indies out for just 27, the second-lowest total in Test history.

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Skipper Pat Cummins led the tributes for the pace duo after the conclusion of the series, which sees Australia keep the top spot in the current ICC World Test Championship Standings.

Hailing Starc’s six-wicket haul, Cummins said, “He was on fire. I think a lot of the chat leading into this week is like how resilient and professional you need to be to play 100 Tests, but I think that’s the Starc I always remember playing alongside.

“He can tear a game open by himself in a matter of a couple of overs. Feels like he can do it in any format, any time. That was an amazing effort.”

Starc was on target from the onset, nabbing three wickets in his first over to put Australia in the driving seat.

Scott Boland wasn’t left much behind as the right-arm pacer picked the first-ever hat-trick in a pink-ball Test, helping Australia clinch a 176-run win in Kingston, Jamaica.

“We were just saying how it was just celebrating like a normal wicket, but it was a hat-trick,” Cummins said on Boland’s feat.

“I mean, it was just awesome. Scotty just seems to get on a heater every now and then. We all love Scotty, so pumped for him.”

While the 3-0 scoreline highlights Australia’s dominance in their first Test assignment since the WTC Final at Lord’s, Cummins believes the series was more evenly contested.

“It feels like every game has been fairly tight and then we’ve just managed to get away from them in the end. It’s been pretty tight for the most part. We turned up to quite a few days and knew we needed a partnership, and we’ve always managed to find a partnership or get a breakthrough,” Cummins said.

“Even this morning, I thought, you can get on the wrong side of the conditions here. Suddenly they’re batting and I thought the wickets were getting flatter and 200 might be chaseable. Little bit hard to make how they went, but I thought for the most part we bowled and played pretty well,” he added.

Australia, who sit atop the WTC Standings with three wins from as many fixtures, are scheduled to host England later this year for a five-match Ashes series.