Advertisement

Pat Cummins' bizarre revelation about Scott Morrison and Justin Langer

The Aussie cricket captain has spilled the beans on a private WhatsApp group with himself and the former prime minister.

Pat Cummins, pictured here alongside Scott Morrison and Justin Langer.
Pat Cummins has revealed his private WhatsApp group with Scott Morrison and Justin Langer. Image: Getty

Pat Cummins has revealed how former prime minster Scott Morrison added him to a private WhatsApp group with Justin Langer when he became Test cricket captain. Season two of the Amazon documentary 'The Test' reveals the moment Cummins discovers Morrison has added him to the messaging group while travelling from training with Mitchell Starc before the first Ashes Test against England in Brisbane last summer.

Cummins said former Test captain Tim Paine was also in a group with the former PM and Langer before he stepped down before the Ashes series began. Speaking to the Sydney Morning Herald at the premiere of season two on Monday night, Cummins said: “We were in the car driving home from training and the bowlers have a WhatsApp group called ‘The Legends’, which we named ourselves.

'VERY POOR': Mark Taylor lashes out over 'ridiculous' Test farce

'SURPRISED': Cummins' eye-opening admission in David Warner drama

“Then I got added to ‘The Legends’ group, which was another one, by Scott Morrison, then prime minister, and I remember having a laugh with the boys thinking I’d better not send the wrong thing to the wrong group. I did once. I think it was a stat or a photo or a meme or something that came up and I sent it to the wrong group and I quickly had to delete it. Sorry PM.”

Cummins said he received a number of messages from Morrison and Langer on a daily basis. “Just me, JL and the prime minister,” he said. “I think Painey had one as well. It was busy as well, every day’s play there was a ‘good luck, go get ’em today’.”

Pat Cummins hopes documentary ends Justin Langer saga

The second season of 'The Test' will be released on Friday, featuring Paine's downfall, last summer's Ashes series and Langer's ugly departure as coach. Players and the media were shown the first two episodes at a launch in Sydney on Monday night.

The first season of the doco seemed to spark Langer's downfall when concerns about the coach's style and intensity first came to light. Several heated discussions between players and the coach were captured, with Usman Khawaja warning Langer that players were walking on eggshells around him.

Langer eventually resigned after being offered a six-month contract extension - which he viewed as a slap in the face after leading Australia to glory in the Ashes and T20 World Cup. In a montage during the first episode of season two, Cummins says the players were on tenterhooks around the coach.

Speaking to AAP on Monday night, the Aussie captain said he isn't concerned about how the documentary and fallout from the Langer saga will appear to the public. "We're all at peace with it. The way it's told is pretty accurate to how it all played out," he said.

Pat Cummins, pictured here with wife Becky Boston at the premiere of 'The Test' season two in Sydney.
Pat Cummins with wife Becky Boston at the premiere of 'The Test' season two in Sydney. (Photo by Don Arnold/WireImage) (WireImage)

"A lot of these things publicly and outside the group get really heated and can be really divisive. Hopefully with the cameras inside the group you get a bit more context and it's not divisive.

"Seeing it objectively there is a little less heat and emotion involved in the situation as opposed to what might get played out in the papers and conversations."

Earlier this summer, Langer expressed his frustrations over his exit as coach in several interviews. He claimed he received a lack of feedback from the players and officials.

"What will come across hopefully is that we are a team that is really motivated," Cummins said. "We finished the Ashes series and the next big thing that came across was Pakistan. And rightly or wrongly, the nature of sport is we all move on pretty quickly."

with AAP

Click here to sign up to our newsletter for all the latest and breaking stories from Australia and around the world.