Ashes 2025-26: Pat Cummins Hails Australia's Response To Setbacks Following Series Victory

Pat Cummins saluted Australia's ability to respond in the face of adversity, after they retained the Ashes with two Tests to spare.

The hosts established an unassailable 3-0 lead in the series on Sunday, following an 82-run victory in Adelaide.

It has been a generally routine victory for Australia, though it has not come without difficulties for them.

Cummins missed the opening two Tests of the series, and is unlikely to play in Melbourne, while Josh Hazlewood has been absent throughout with a hamstring injury.

Nathan Lyon, who starred during the third Test, is also a doubt for the remainder of the series with his own hamstring problem, but Cummins hailed the way the Baggy Greens generally respond to setbacks. 

"I think that's one of the things I'm most proud about in this group," he said. "Nothing ever really happens perfectly, there's always something that gets thrown up.

"Over the last few years, this group has shown [it can] just crack on. Even I missed the first couple of games, Steve [Smith] stepped right in, and it was smooth and seamless. There's always things that crop up; Nathan Lyon doing his hamstring with a couple of hours left today.

"The boys just go: 'Okay, that's happened. Let's crack on. What's next?' I think that's one of the big reasons why we've had our success over the last couple of years."

On securing the urn, he added: "It feels pretty awesome. It's a series we've been thinking about for a long time. It wasn't easy today, but we got it done. It's a pretty excited changing room in there."

"You can't really rush things here in Australia. I think you will it to happen, but it doesn't really work that way. It's a good old-fashioned grind a lot of the time. I loved the toil from all the guys today. It got a little bit closer than I would have liked, but I'm pretty happy."

Having taken six wickets on his return to action, Cummins now has 97 wickets in the Ashes.