Surely, singling someone out in a team sport doesn’t set a good precedence for other players, but you can’t also argue that Lionel Messi is the best player in Barcelona, and arguably on the planet. And if Tennis was a team-game, the holy trinity, Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic, would have stood out. This is the way of the world.
So when Brad Hogg, during a live session on Twitter with the fans, was asked about who he thinks is the best player in Australia’s cricket team, he had the answer. Without circumventing it, he named Patt Cummins as the “Most Valuable Player” in his native country.
Our take:
It’s slightly contentious. Subjective, to some extent!
If you follow cricket, you can argue Hogg’s take on that question, for Australian cricket is stocked with supremely talented and outstanding players. Could Australia have coped without Steve Smith in the 2019 Ashes? Probably not. In fact, it would have been almost impossible for Aussies to take the prestigious urn back home, had Smith not recovered from the injury he picked up in Lord’s test where he was forced off after getting hit on the neck by England fast bowler Jofra Archer.
In this context, there are other players in Australian cricket set up, who are indispensable or have become key players.
What about Marnus Labuschagne! He was as instrumental in Australia’s Ashes defence in England as was Smith or any other player. How good he was last year, is clear from the fact that the 25-year-old was awarded Australia’s Male Test Player of the Year in 2019.
But Cummins deserves plaudits. Few factors make him a genuine MVP in this team. First and foremost, he is superb with the ball. He has a whole quiver of fast and slow balls and is extremely unpredictable.