Although they compete on opposite sides of the globe, both the Australian men’s and women’s cricket teams understand that their sport is only one aspect of their lives.
Following the Delhi Test, their skipper, Pat Cummins, travelled home to Sydney to be with his mother, Maria, who has breast cancer and is receiving palliative care.
As much as anybody, Starc is aware of the struggles his pace partner and close friend have faced since arriving in India.
A few weeks after India’s illustrious triumph at the Gabba in February 2021, when an exhausted Australian bowling attack failed to prevent its opponents from chasing down 328, Starc’s father Paul passed away.
Before the third test, in which he is anticipated to recover from a fractured finger, Starc told the media in Indore, “You all go through various things, with different amounts of grief or difficulty.”
” It is challenging enough to lead an international cricket team while inside a COVID bubble within the same nation.
“Pat’s a really tough and resilient individual, and I am sure he was experiencing certain things in silence.” He is precisely where he needs to be right now to show his love and support to the people in his immediate family. That must have been quite challenging to be over here while there was certainly a lot of hubbub at home.
Starc’s father, who was battling illness, had encouraged him to keep playing throughout the summer of 2020–2021.
Later that year, Healy told Channel Seven, “Mitch did not want to be there playing cricket.” He desired to be seated close to his father and to spend the final three months of his life with him.
Paul did not want that; he wanted Mitch to represent Australia and proudly don the baggy green.
The Australian players have shown their captain an abundance of sympathy.
A year before his son made his Test debut, Peter Handscomb’s father, John, passed away in 2015. Handscomb praised Cummins for his leadership in the first two tests.
To be able to set that aside when he is out leading his nation and attempting to win Test matches, Handscomb added, “is a pretty tremendous effort.”
“I believe that says a lot about his character and the reason he has been such a great captain for us,” the captain said.
Nonetheless, Handscomb insisted that leaving was the proper decision, and Starc agreed.
Caring is really important in this group, and Pat is now in the best place for him, according to Starc.
“Having recently gone through a similar experience, it is a difficult position to be in, trying to wrap your mind around playing international cricket and for him to captain at the same time when your thoughts could be back home or with your family,” the captain says.
There is no manual for handling catastrophes.
As the Indian bowler was in hotel quarantine before the 20-21 series in Australia, when visitors were required to stay in their rooms for a fortnight to stop the spread of COVID-19, Mohammad Siraj’s father passed away just a few months before Starc’s.
After taking a heartbreaking five-wicket haul in just his third Test in Brisbane, Siraj stated, “It was terrible when he passed away.” “I spoke to my family, and after talking to my mother, I felt stronger.” “I was mostly concerned with realizing my father’s wish for me to play in an India Test match.”
Incongruous locations have provided comfort for Cummins and his family.
When England played New Zealand in a test match in Wellington, the trumpeter from their fan club, The Barmy Army, played a somber rendition of the West Side Story song Maria.
Cummins said on Monday that witnessing it brought delight to his mother.
Starc said, “We are dads, partners, and sons first.” People come first, followed by cricketers.
