"Question Marks Were Against Pakistan...": Pat Cummins Breaks Silence After Steve Waugh's "Death Of Test Cricket" Charge

Australia captain Pat Cummins acknowledged that he occasionally worries about the future of the five-day game but he believes the sport isn't as badly declining as people think. Over the past ten years, the red-ball format has suffered a decline in interest at stadiums and viewership due to the T20s' increasing global appeal. Yet, Perth and Melbourne's packed crowds have witnessed Australia's current series against Pakistan. Sydney will host the third Test from January 3 to 7. Australia are presently ranked third in the ICC World Test Championship rankings and holds an unassailable 2-0 lead in the series.

All attention will be on veteran opener David Warner, who is about to say goodbye to the longest format of the game in front of his home fans at the Sydney Cricket Ground on Wednesday. In an attempt to give the seasoned opener the ideal send-off, Australia are anticipated to be up for the struggle against Pakistan in Sydney. Warner will depart as Australia's fifth-highest run-scorer in the format.

"My hopes are that it's even stronger than it is now, in ten years' time or 20 years' time. I think in some regards leading to this Test summer, some of the question marks were against Pakistan and West Indies. We've had two fantastic Test matches against Pakistan, really well supported, big crowds," Cummins told reporters ahead of the third Test against Pakistan as quoted by ESPNcricinfo.

"So I don't think it's in as dramatic a decline as sometimes it gets spoken about. But I think there is an issue just with the amount of other cricket out there, obviously, competition for talent is higher than it's ever been," he added.

Earlier, taking to Instagram, former Australia captain Steve Waugh slammed the International Cricket