Pat Cummins once again led from the front as Australia defeated England by 82 runs in the third Test of the 2025–26 Ashes series at the Adelaide Oval. The match, played from December 17 to 21, ended on Day 5 and helped the Baggy Greens secure the series in commanding fashion.
Cummins Delivers a Captain’s Performance in Adelaide
In his first Test of the ongoing Ashes series, Pat Cummins was outstanding with the ball. He picked up three wickets in England’s first innings and followed it up with another three in the second, finishing with six wickets in the match.
Those six scalps proved special for more than one reason. They took Cummins’ tally to 151 Test wickets as Australia captain, making him just the second captain in the history of the game to reach the 150-wicket mark. The only other player to achieve this rare feat is Pakistan legend Imran Khan.
Pat Cummins has now taken 151 wickets in 38 Tests as captain of Australia. Imran Khan, meanwhile, finished his career with 187 wickets in 48 Tests as Pakistan’s skipper.
An Exclusive Club of Test Captains
Only 10 captains in Test cricket history have taken more than 100 wickets, but just two of them have gone beyond 150. Cummins now finds himself alongside Imran Khan in this elite group.
Most wickets in Tests as captain
| Player | Country | Matches | Wickets | Best Figures | 5-Wicket Hauls |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Imran Khan | Pakistan | 48 | 187 | 8/60 | 12 |
| Pat Cummins | Australia | 38 | 151 | 6/28 | 9 |
| Richie Benaud | Australia | 28 | 138 | 6/70 | 9 |
| Garry Sobers | West Indies | 39 | 117 | 6/73 | 3 |
| Daniel Vettori | New Zealand | 32 | 116 | 6/56 | 6 |
| Kapil Dev | India | 34 | 111 | 9/83 | 4 |
| Wasim Akram | Pakistan | 25 | 107 | 6/48 | 3 |
| Bishan Singh Bedi | India | 22 | 106 | 6/71 | 8 |
| Shaun Pollock | South Africa | 26 | 103 | 6/30 | 4 |
| Jason Holder | West Indies | 37 | 100 | 6/42 | 7 |
Key Wickets Against England
Pat Cummins’ 150th Test wicket as Australia captain came with the dismissal of Ollie Pope. England’s No. 3 batter managed only 17 runs from 29 balls before being caught by Marnus Labuschagne in the slips on Day 4 of the Adelaide Test.
Soon after, Pat Cummins struck again by removing Joe Root. The former England captain was caught behind by Alex Carey, further tightening Australia’s grip on the match.
Climbing Australia’s All-Time Test Wicket List
The wicket of Ollie Pope was also Cummins’ 314th Test wicket overall for Australia. That milestone helped him move past Mitchell Johnson and become Australia’s sixth-highest wicket-taker in Test cricket.
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Most wickets for Australia in Tests
| Player | Matches | Wickets | Best Figures |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shane Warne | 145 | 708 | 8/71 |
| Nathan Lyon | 141 | 567 | 8/50 |
| Glenn McGrath | 124 | 563 | 8/24 |
| Mitchell Starc | 103 | 424 | 7/58 |
| Dennis Lillee | 70 | 355 | 7/83 |
| Pat Cummins | 72 | 315 | 6/23 |
| Mitchell Johnson | 73 | 313 | 8/61 |
| Brett Lee | 76 | 310 | 5/30 |
| Josh Hazlewood | 76 | 295 | 6/67 |
| Craig McDermott | 71 | 291 | 8/97 |
Pat Cummins Unlikely to Feature in Boxing Day Test
Despite his match-winning performance in Adelaide, Pat Cummins is unlikely to play in the fourth Test of the Ashes, which will be held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground from December 26 to 30. The Australian captain confirmed the update during the post-match press conference.
“I’m feeling really good, (but) as for the rest of the series, we’ll wait and see,” he said. “We had a pretty aggressive build-up, knowing that it’s the Ashes there to be won, and we thought that was worth it. Now that the series has been won, there might be a sense of job’s done and let’s reassess the risk.“
Cummins also spoke about how the team plans to manage his workload for the remainder of the series.
“We’ll work it out over the next couple of days; I doubt I’ll be playing Melbourne, and then we’ll have a chat about Sydney. But certainly before the series it was, while the series was live, let’s take on the risk and have a crack at it, now it’s done, I think we’ll need to have a chat about it,” he added.
With the Ashes already secured, Australia appears keen to prioritize player fitness. Regardless of whether Cummins plays another Test in the series, his impact as captain and strike bowler has already been a defining story of this Ashes campaign.
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