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1 year ago
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Australian cricket captain Pat Cummins was left looking embarrassed and confused when he was caught up in cringeworthy scenes at the World Cup trophy presentation on Monday.
The skipper was left stranded alone on the stage when Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Australian deputy PM Richard Marles abruptly walked off the stage during the ceremony in Ahmedabad after Australia's stunning six-wicket win over India.
Cummins seemed puzzled as he was left to stand awkwardly on the dais with the trophy in hand as fireworks went off behind him, sheepishly looking on for more than 30 seconds as his teammates shook hands with the politicians off the stage.
Cummins was left stranded on his own after receiving the World Cup trophy and spent what seemed like an age sheepishly looking around before his teammates joined him
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi presented the silverware to Cummins in the Ahmedabad stadium that bares his name - but the ceremony took a very embarrassing turn when he and Australian deputy PM Richard Marles left the stage
The rest of the side eventually joined him and kicked off overjoyed celebrations to mark the country's record sixth World Cup title, but the scenes struck a nerve with cricket fans, who took to social media to voice their astonishment at the scenes.
'Hahaha most awkward trophy presentation of all time,' one fan posted.
'The most awkward championship trophy presentation in sports history,' wrote cricket author Peter Della Penna.
'They've burned 99% of fireworks on Modi presenting the trophy to Cummins solo and they continue firing as Cummins stands alone on stage while Modi goes off stage to shake hands with the rest of the Aussie squad.'
'That's a bloody awful trophy ceremony....Cummins left on his own up on the stage with the trophy because of the bloody politicians. How does cricket get it so wrong?' another viewer added, with others branding the scenes 'bloody rude' and 'disgraceful'.
Australia's victorious stars celebrate after a trophy presentation some fans called the most awkward they'd ever seen
Cummins and fellow fast bowler Mitchell Starc (pictured together) were instrumental in the win as Australia restricted the hosts to just 240 all out
Travis Head was immense for Australia, taking an incredible catch to dismiss Rohit Sharma and smashing 137 from just 120 balls in a match-winning display
Other fans pointed out that the Indian team didn't stay on the field for the presentation, and that their shattered fans had also left the stadium in droves by the time the silverware was handed to the Aussie captain.
Former England Test captain Michael Vaughan was left very unimpressed by the end to the tournament.
'Didn’t like not seeing the Indian side stay out on the pitch to see the Aussies lift the trophy,' he posted on X, before later deleting the message.
India came into the final as the only unbeaten side at the World Cup but were bundled out as they became the only hosts since the West Indies in 2007 to fail to win the most important trophy in limited-overs cricket.
Travis Head was immense for Australia in the final, taking a crucial catch and hammering 137 runs from just 120 balls - but he almost wasn't picked for the squad
Cummins' decision to bowl first was a masterstroke as Australia suffocated and tore through India's batting line-up to restrict them to 240 all out.
After losing three wickets relatively cheaply, the Aussies steadied the ship and raced to victory with seven overs to spare thanks to the 192-run partnership between Marnus Labuschagne and Travis Head, who smashed a stunning 137 from just 120 balls.
Cummins later revealed a very risky call by coach Andrew McDonald was a crucial factor in the victory, which Vaughan said was the greatest in the history of the tournament.
McDonald took a big gamble when he decided to keep Travis Head in the Cup squad after he broke his hand during a match against South Africa in September.
Cummins hailed coach Andrew McDonald (pictured together celebrating the win on Monday) for taking a big risk when he brought head into the World Cup squad despite the batter breaking his hand in September
Having formed a formidable opening partnership with David Warner after the retirement of former captain Aaron Finch, Head's World Cup was thought to be 'straight over' after his injury, Cummins said.
But a plan hatched by McDonald, including treatment and rehabilitation in Adelaide, paid off in the best possible way as head took a crucial catch to dismiss Rohit Sharma and smashed 137 from just 120 balls in a match-winning performance in the final.
'We thought his World Cup was straight over,' Cummins said in the wake of the six-wicket victory.
'It wasn't until I think it was about the next night afterwards where Ronnie [McDonald] came up to me. He's like, 'I haven't slept all last night. I think we're going to keep him. We're going to take the risk. He might be right for the Netherlands and then if we're going to make the finals and we want to win the World Cup I think he needs to be there for the finals',' Cummins said.
'It's his idea and again great work by the medical team and it means you probably don't have the second spinner in your squad, which is a risk, but obviously paid off.
'I think we could have been made to look really silly if that didn't pay off, but you've got to take those risks to win a tournament. And Trav, the player we've seen in Test cricket, he epitomised everything I want out of a cricket team.'
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