The Australian cricket team could have stared at a much bigger COVID crisis, and it's sheer luck that saved two more members of the Ashes squad from being isolated ahead of the second Test at the Adelaide Oval, captain Pat Cummins has revealed.
Cummins was a last-minute withdrawal from the side on the morning of the Adelaide Test, dropped as he was deemed a close contact with a person who later tested positive for COVID-19.
However, the pace bowler revealed on Friday that teammates Mitch Starc and Nathan Lyon too dined outside at the same restaurant.
Cummins had dined at a steakhouse in Adelaide with a friend the night before the Test and a patron at the next table later tested positive for the virus.
A report in thewest.com.au said that, "They (Starc and Lyon) were supposed to be sitting with Cummins, but he hadn't checked his phone for 40 minutes and so they lost patience and dined separately. Had Cummins checked his phone earlier, it could have been all three of them out of the Test."
"They walked in angry -- they kicked up a stink and sat out the back (separately)," Cummins said of Lyon and Starc.
Cummins also revealed how angry he felt after coming to know that he was deemed a close contact and that he would miss the Test.
"I (was) really angry -- but I don't know who at. There was no-one to blame. Once it became apparent, the state rules, you have to follow them," Cummins said ahead of the MCG Test.
"We knew it (virus) might pop at some stage in this series. I didn't think -- or hope -- it was going to be me. You abide by the protocols, but there (was) hardly any COVID around, so I didn't factor it in at all until the bloke popped up next to me and said he's positive. No-one did anything wrong. The poor guy just flew to Adelaide to try and enjoy a couple of days of cricket -- I felt really bad for him as well," added Cummins.
"It's just one player, it's slightly bigger news because it's COVID and the captain, but it's not the end of the world, it's not a huge change."