The teenage assassin

When a prospective superstar suddenly bursts onto the cricket landscape and has most blinking in disbelief, it is prudent to seek out the finest to ascertain a sage assessment of the individual.

Following his stunning ‘Man of the Match’ performance, accolades were immediately flying about with some proclaiming that the 18-year-old from the Blue Mountains will rewrite the record books. That is high praise indeed and potentially accurate, but enormously premature. I needed a voice or two of reason to put things into perspective to gauge what promise Patrick Cummins possesses. I did not have to venture far.

A couple of blokes who are legends of the game were lurking nearby. Both in their day had carved up attacks, blunted the best and won matches in different eras. Between them they had amassed over 23 000 test runs. Jaques Kallis and Allan Border were in my sights.

My first appraiser, Kallis, had the previous day been ‘worked over’ by Cummins. He eventually succumbed to him after an intense battle. Some trophy for the newbie! Australian media reports exaggerated things dramatically by headlining that Cummins had completely rattled and dominated Kallis. None have ever done that. My second assessor, Border, was his normal reserved yet analytical self, absorbing all and forming his own considered opinions.

Kallis offered that Pat was ‘different’ in technique with a unique attribute that will ensure success. He stated that at 6 foot 4 he was already ahead of the pack because he could clearly slip it to 150 clicks when warranted. That attribute alone, however, was unlikely to trouble 'The Walking Coaching Manual'. When Kallis expanded, he clearly identified the uniqueness of Cummins when he extolled the teenager’s ability to bowl from wide of the crease yet still swing the ball away from a right handed batsman at pace from menacing areas. Very few in the history of the game have possessed that skill level.

Interestingly enough, Border independently jumped on exactly the same assessment. That, as well as seven willow-wielding South Africans in his debut test, was good enough for me. Border went as far as to say that the perpetually snarling Colin Croft was the only other quality act that he could remember who was blessed with that rare wide of the crease, out-swinging, lethal awkwardness.

To those who are already shouting their mouths off and advocating technique changes to ensure release points are both higher and closer to the stumps, I say crawl back under your rock and come out again when you have something constructive and sensible to say.

It clearly is early days for the teenage assassin and careful monitoring of Pat's workload must be high on Cricket Australia's agenda. Patrick will need to find the perfect experienced mentor who most importantly will keep the game simple, will not develop a robot, and will ensure his natural flair and lethal pace do all the talking.

As AB said, "Let him loose in his raw and spectacular state and enjoy him reaping rewards and creating havoc from an exuberant base and resist any temptation to tamper with technique.”

Kallis would have secretly concurred.