Run-rate manipulation would've been against Spirit of Cricket: Cummins

Source: The New Indian Express

GROS ISLET: Insisting that Josh Hazlewood's remarks were not serious, Australia lead pacer Pat Cummins said they would have never tried to manipulate their net run rate to knock England out of the ongoing T20 World Cup, which would have been "against the Spirit of Cricket".

Pacer Hazlewood had sparked a controversy when he said Aussies would try to eliminate England from the tournament if there was such an opportunity for them in their upcoming Group B match against Scotland.

"I think when you go out and play you are trying your best every time and if you are not, that's probably against the spirit of cricket. We haven't really thought too deeply because it's (NRR manipulation) never really popped up," Cummins told reporters here.

Cummins said he had a talk with Hazlewood about the latter's comments, and said the thought about NRR never really figured in anybody's thought process.

"I was speaking to Joshy, who had a bit of a joke about it the other day, and think it (his comments) got taken a little bit out of context. We'll go there and just try and play Scotland who have had a really good tournament so far and will be tough.

"It's (NRR) something you kind of discuss as one of the quirks of the set-up but in terms of does it change the way we play, absolutely not," Cummins offered.

"I've never stepped into the field without the mindset of trying to take the game on and be aggressive, like the guys have so far," he added.