An extraordinary deal to cross state
lines in a charter plane, with no expense
spared to get their man to safety — no,
this isn’t the plot of the latest 007 film
but the movements of the Australia
Test captain.
It has been a dramatic week for Pat
Cummins, the man nicknamed “Cap-
tain Colgate” for his sparkling, white-
teethed smile but whose imminent act
of exfiltration would be the envy of
Commander Bond.
The 28-year-old, fresh from captain-
ing Australia for the first time as they
beat England in the Ashes opener, was
in an Adelaide restaurant on the eve of
the second Test when he was deemed a
close contact to someone with Covid.
He was forced to miss the match and
remain in his hotel room, with close
contacts in South Australia made to iso-
late for seven days. Rather than sitting
still, however, Cummins has found a
way to escape the state and seek safe
refuge in New South Wales, where reg-
ulations are less stringent.
After two days of wrangling with
health officials in the state, he was free
to leave last night under the strictest of
conditions, taking a charter plane on
his own to Sydney — an expensive
course of action for Cricket Australia
(CA), a board that made swingeing cuts
at the start of the pandemic.
In a statement confirming that Cum-
mins had been granted approval by
South Australia Health to return to
New South Wales, CA explained that
he would self-drive from hotel isolation
to a small airport outside the city and
then, “with the appropriate PPE and
hygiene controls, take a single charter
flight”. It added: “Cricket Australia will
continue to consult with SA Health to
ensure compliance with the plan [and]
he will continue to observe all isolation
Neser seizes
moment after
11-year wait
Arm-twisting
and private jet
free Cummins
6 1GS Saturday December 18 2021 | the times
Sport The Ashes
requirements in NSW.” He produced a
second negative test yesterday.
Once safely in the Sydney beachside
suburb of Bronte, Cummins will be able
to live with his partner, Becky, and
newborn son, Albie, and enjoy much
greater freedoms than if he had stayed
in Adelaide. He should also be free to
train before the third Test that starts on
Boxing Day in Melbourne.
Different rules regarding close con-
tacts around Australia’s states and terri-
tories mean different levels of quaran-
tine. In Victoria, Cummins might have
been able to play the Test; in Western
Australia, Tasmania or the Northern
Territory he would have also missed
the Boxing Day Test; in Queensland he
might have put team members into
isolation if they were defined as people
he usually lives with.
At one point Cummins was consider-
ing driving himself the 455 miles to
Melbourne to catch a flight to Sydney
after he was told he could not board a
direct commercial flight home from
Adelaide. A third option, according to
The Australian newspaper, had him
hiring a private home in Adelaide so he
could see out the rest of his quarantine
outside the hotel room setting.
The special treatment accorded
Cummins might jar with England’s
players, who had to serve two weeks of
quarantine on the Gold Coast.
Cummins was dining indoors at the
restaurant on the eve of the second Test
with the Adelaide Strikers fast bowler
Harry Conway. A Sydney grade cricket-
er came over to their table for a brief
conversation where it is understood
that he shook hands with Cummins.
A short time later the grade cricketer
received a text message from SA Health
telling him he had returned a positive
test. Cummins was then deemed a close
contact. Cummins tested negative after
his meal and did not breach any of CA’s
protocols.Simon Wilde, Bernard Lagan
Weds night,
Dec 15 Cummins
goes for dinner at
The Little Hunter, a
steakhouse and ale
bar in central
Adelaide. He eats
inside and leaves
when a diner at a
nearby table gets a
positive result
Thurs morning,
Dec 16 Cummins
produces a negative
Covid test result but
news emerges that
he will miss the
Second Test at
Adelaide Oval.
Cummins goes into
isolation
Thurs evening
Australia dominate
England in Second
Test
Friday, Dec 17
Cricket Australia
confirms Cummins
granted approval by
SA Health to returnhome to Sydney in
New South Wales
Under the plan
approved by SA
Health, he will
self-drive from
isolation and then,
with the appropriate
PPE and hygiene
controls, take asingle charter flight
He will continue
to observe all
isolation
requirements in
NSW. He will be able
to train in NSW but
not in Adelaide
because of strict
Covid rulesCummins
expected to come
out of isolation at
the end of next
week
Cummins
expected to captain
Australia in the
Boxing Day Test at
MelbourneAUSTRALIA
SOUTH SOSOU
AUSTRALIAUSSQUEENSLANDNEW SOUTH
WALES100 milesBrisbane
(First Test)SydneyMelbourne
(Third Test)Adelaide
(Second Test)
Cummins had
considered driving 455 miles
to Melbourne, then catching a
flight to Sydney from thereCummins, here
with fiancée
Becky Boston,
avoided hotel
quarantineDARRIAN TRAYNOR/GETTY IMAGESMichael Neser thought he had missed
his chance of a first Test cap when Jhye
Richardson was preferred as replace-
ment for the injured Josh Hazlewood
for the Adelaide Test. But then came
the message on Wednesday night to be
ready, a consequence of Pat Cummins
becoming a contact of a Covid case.
Neser woke up on the morning of the
game “not really knowing” if he would
play, until Justin Langer, the Australia
head coach, confirmed his elevation to
the starting XI at about 9 or 10am.
Three hours later Glenn McGrath
was presenting him with his baggy
green and telling him to remember the
players who had gone before him. In
truth, few of the seam bowlers who had
played for Australia before had started
as late as Neser, who turns 32 in March.
Neser spent most of the first day
watching Australia’s top-order batsmen
lay the foundations for a possible match-
winning total, with the significant part
being played by Marnus Labuschagne,
whom Neser knows well from their time
at Glamorgan in the summer.
By the time Neser got his chance to
bat, at the start of the third session on
day two, he was instructed to swing the
bat and have fun. A declaration was
coming, so enjoy. Having been a profes-
sional cricketer for more than 11 years,
he did not need a second invitation.
By the time he holed out at long on
off Ben Stokes, he had struck 35 from 24
balls — only one man in history has
scored more than 25 in his debut Test
innings at a faster rate than that (Tim
Southee, also against England).
With England desperate to get to the
close, it was a great time for Neser to
bowl his first spell. His second legiti-
mate delivery was full enough to invite
Haseeb Hameed to work it into the leg
side, but he dragged it uppishly to
Mitchell Starc at mid-on. It was a gift.
Had not a thunder and lightning
storm come to England’s rescue, there
was a feeling that Neser could have
inflicted more damage. England would
scarcely have believed their luck when
Hazlewood and Cummins were ruled
out of this Test. But Australia are blessed
with some pretty good back-ups.Simon Wilde