Pat Cummins on verge of brutal 118-year first in fifth Ashes Test

Pat Cummins will be desperate to avoid an unwanted slice of history for the fifth Ashes Test at The Oval, having lost all four of the tosses in the first four matches. No Australia captain has lost all five tosses in an Ashes series since Joe Darling in 1905.

Darling's shocking run of luck came after he reportedly broke a time-honoured tradition by tossing and calling his own coin as touring captain in the first Test. Having lost the proceeding four tosses, England claimed karma had come back to bite the touring captain.

'RIDICULOUS': Ricky Ponting shuts down Joe Root amid Ashes furore

'CAN'T DO THAT': Mark Waugh's brutal call on Pat Cummins

'A JOKE': David Warner responds to Steve Smith bombshell

Cummins has a chance to avoid the same fate as Darling but insists he'll continue to call 'tails', despite being unsuccessful four times in a row now. "There's been a lot of talk about it," Cummins said about the coin flip and whether he will try a different tactic.

"Tosses are meant to be 50-50 but it's amazing how people have theories on it. I'll stick with tails I think. It would be courageous switching (but) I think I'm sticking with tails."

Cummins' record at the toss is even worse considering he also lost before last month's World Test Championship final to India at The Oval - the same ground where the fifth Ashes Test is being played. For all the talk about England being the better side despite being on the wrong end of the 2-1 scoreline in the series, the hosts have failed to take full advantage of the favourable conditions.

Indeed, even if Cummins does lose another toss and Australia goes on to win at The Oval, it would be just the third time in 19 Tests where a team losing five tosses has won the series. England's preference to bowl first if they win the toss will be crucial at The Oval with rain forecast in the hours before the match, making the call even more vital for Cummins and Australia's hopes of a first Ashes series win in England since 2001.

Pat Cummins brushes off captaincy criticism

Cummins comes into the final Test with his captaincy under immense pressure after a career-worst bowling display of 1-129 at Old Trafford. The Aussie skipper appeared to run out of ideas as England ripped apart the visitors' short-ball barrage by plundering 592 runs in their one and only innings, leading to suggestions from Victorian cricket great Darren Berry that Cummins "would resign" as captain after the series.

"A few things have come across my desk from the boys having a laugh," Cummins said of the criticism. "I've been in this job two years now and you learn pretty quickly you've got to have a thick skin.

"I'm not going to please everyone and everyone's got opinions. But they aren't facts, they're opinions." The Aussie skipper has taken full responsibility for his side's tactical failings though, and suggested a different approach will be likely at The Oval.

"It probably wasn't our best day in terms of that. And that's my fault, no one else's. "It's tough. You're out there, the wicket's a flat wicket, the batters are batting well, it's played at a different pace to pretty much any Test cricket before."

Aussie Test greats Mark Waugh and Glenn McGrath have been among those to question whether Cummins is overburdened by having to bowl so many overs as well as captain the side. The skipper remains adamant he can balance both effectively, despite looking jaded in the fourth Test.

"I feel like with each game I'm getting better. There's a fair bit more left in me," Cummins said. The biggest asset we have is the experience of the group and that's not going to be around forever.

"We're very individualised in how we let everyone be themselves and do it their way. Some of that's down to the fact that we've got guys that have played 100 Test matches, or 15 years of first-class cricket.

"If there's new guys in, maybe you need to shift that (approach) a little bit. It's exciting, that's what I like about the job." Under Cummins' captaincy Australia has won 11 Tests and lost four, retaining the Ashes twice and winning the World Test Championship across the 18 months of his reign.

with agencies

Sign up to our newsletter and score the biggest sport stories of the week.