Pat Cummins - ’My mother’s death taught me cricket isn’t as important as family’

Considered by many as one of the greatest cricketers of all time, the Australian cricket captain Pat Cummins is extremely well-placed to tell me how he wins but also how he’s been shaped by losing.

But his losses have not been limited to the cricket pitch. In an extremely moving exchange, he tells me about his mother dying from cancer and how her death put the rest of his life into perspective. We talk about the continuing juggle of family commitments with the demands made of an elite sportsman and the practical strategies he’s found to say no to people (he gives us his top three tips and, trust me, they are SO helpful).

This is someone for whom resilience and tenacity are key - after becoming a professional cricketer at 18, he spent the next 5 years plagued with injuries and played less cricket than he’d ever done in his life. Pat recounts how he kept going and what he loves to do when he’s not on the pitch (it involves fixing fences slowly…and quite badly).

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