Pat Cummins has spoken publicly about the loss of his mother, sharing a touching story about how his 18-month-old son Albie had been able to spend time with his grandmother before she died in March.
Asked to bring something sentimental to an interview with former England soccer great Rio Ferdinand for the WeAre8 social media site, which supports climate change and charities, Cummins chose a cardboard children’s book.
Pat Cummins with wife Becky and son Albie at the MCG on Christmas Day.Credit: Getty
“I’m not a very sentimental person so I had to think what in the house was important to me,” Cummins told Ferdinand. “I brought a kids book. My son Albie is 18 months old. It’s his favourite kids book. It’s called Birds, and it’s from England, so hopefully you’ll recognise a few. He absolutely loves this book. He grabs it from the bookshelf.
“Just before mum passed away, this is the book mum read to him the last time he saw her, so it’s really special for me. My wife [Beckie] bought it so there’s a huge connection that brings us all together.”
Cummins abandoned Australia’s tour of India midway through the four-Test series to be with his mother, who was suffering from breast cancer.
“I’m part of a big family, I’m one of five kids. It’s still pretty raw at the moment, but during the last few months I’ve been able to luckily enough spend loads of time with mum and us kids and Dad, just sharing all those memories,” he said.
“It hits home, really hits home, the kind of person you want to be, the kind of father you want to be. From that side. But in terms of the grief, I’ll keep working through that, speaking to others.
Pat Cummins (right) with brothers Matt and Tim playing for Penrith in 2010.Credit: Courtesy of the Cummins Family
“So many people have similar stories, and I think I know them telling me about how they’ve kind of dealt with it and gone through it certainly helped me kind of rationalise it. So if I can help some other people down the track by speaking about it, potentially I will.”
Cummins also credits his family with helping keep his feet on the ground after being elevated to the national captaincy, once described by John Howard as the second most important position in Australia after the Prime Minister.
“I think being part of big families helps. I’ve got two brothers, two sisters, and if you’re starting to get too big for your boots they’re willing to cut you down,” Cummins said with a laugh.
“We never took anything too seriously. Sport was always played because it was fun, and definitely competitive. I was trying to always keep up with my older brothers. I was always playing catch up. There were no handicaps.
“Then as soon as it wasn’t fun, you’re doing it wrong. So I’ve always tried to hang on to that, even now. It’s trying to find a bit of balance between cricket and normal life. And if cricket is becoming too stressful or too much I’ve probably taken it a bit too seriously.”
