“Do you feel as though you have completed cricket now?”

The first question a reporter asked Pat Cummins during Sunday’s post-match press conference at the SCG was met with roars of laughter. The Australian captain forced a sheepish smile.

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An hour earlier, Australia had won back the coveted Border-Gavaskar Trophy following a tense six-wicket victory at the Sydney venue, ending India’s decade of dominance. It was the one major trophy that had repeatedly evaded Cummins, with India winning the four most recent iterations of the marquee series, including an unexpected triumph on Australian soil in 2020/21.

But having finally conquered the south Asian powerhouse, Australia was now in possession of every bilateral Test prize they played for, including the World Test Championship mace. The Ashes, the Frank Worrell Trophy, the Trans-Tasman Trophy, the Warne–Muralitharan Trophy, the Benaud-Qadir Trophy and even the Southern Cross Trophy were all in Australia’s back pocket.

Three summers ago, Cummins was handed the Test captaincy on the eve of the 2021/22 Ashes campaign, thrown into the deep end following Tim Paine’s unceremonious exit.

Apart from a handful of one-day domestic matches for the New South Wales Blues, Cummins had not captained any cricket team since his teens. At the time, bowling captains were a rarity in the Test arena, with pundits questioning how the added leadership would impact the paceman’s primary craft.

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Fast forward three years, the list of Cummins’ achievements as Australian captain is unmatched — a historic series win in Pakistan, a maiden World Test Championship title, retaining the Ashes in England, lifting the World Cup trophy in India, whitewashing the Black Caps in New Zealand and now regaining the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.

“Unreal, this was one that a few of us didn’t have,” Cummins said during Sunday’s post-match presentation at the SCG.

“It’s been an amazing series, immensely proud.

“Feel so privileged to first of all have this job. But what we’ve been able to achieve together alongside the support staff as well, it’s such a group effort, families as well. They give up so much. So yeah, really proud of what we’ve been able to achieve.”

Most Test wickets as captain

187 – Imran Khan (PAK)

138 – Richie Benaud (AUS)

130 – Pat Cummins (AUS)

117 – Garry Sobers (WI)

116 – Daniel Vettori (NZ)

As skipper, Cummins has taken 130 Test wickets at 23.50, numbers that are only bettered by Imran Khan and Richie Benaud, while last year he was awarded the Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy having been recognised by the ICC as Men’s Cricketer of the Year.

For a minimum of 33 matches, Cummins’ win-loss ratio of 2.857 as Test captain is behind only by Steve Waugh and Ricky Ponting, but Australia’s recent success was achieved without the likes of Glenn McGrath, Shane Warne, Adam Gilchrist and Matthew Hayden, each of which would feature in Australia’s all-time starting XI.

Australia’s current bowling quartet has been touted as cricket’s best attack since the golden era of the West Indies in the 1970’s, but apart from batting maestro Steve Smith, the top order doesn’t come close to matching the talent within Waugh’s team at the turn of the millennium.

Former Australian batter Mike Hussey was a member of the legendary Test side that won 16 consecutive matches under Ponting’s guidance, culminating in a dramatic triumph over India at the SCG in 2008 — but he believes the Cummins-led team deserved to be considered among the nation’s best.

“I think they have got to be right up there, because they’ve won pretty much everything,” Hussey told foxsports.com.au.

“They’ve won the Ashes. They’ve won World Cups. I know Test cricket is different to white-ball cricket, but in Pat Cummins’ reign, this is the one they didn’t have, beating India. They’ve been able to keep this core group together for a long, long, long period of time.

“We’ve highlighted the bowling group and the amount of wickets they’ve got together. It’s been incredible. Only history will judge it, I guess.

“I’m not very good at judging different eras, because it’s hard to do, but I think they’re going to be right up there for sure.”

Highest win-loss ratio among Australian Test captains

4.555 – Steve Waugh

3.000 – Ricky Ponting

2.857 – Pat Cummins

2.100 – Steve Smith

2.000 – Mark Taylor

* Minimum 20 wins

Australia’s 3-1 series triumph over India, which conceivably could have been 4-1 if not for Brisbane’s rain, comes after a crushing 295-run defeat during the series opener at Perth Stadium.

The result prompted speculation on Australia’s preparation ahead of the marquee series — Cummins elected not to play any Sheffield Shield cricket heading into the Test summer, while his decision to attend a Coldplay concert rather than play the third ODI against Pakistan also drew criticism.

After Josh Hazlewood was ruled out of the Adelaide Test with a minor side strain, former Indian captain Sunil Gavaskar suggested the fast bowler’s absence was due to unrest within the dressing room.

But despite calls for fresh blood in an aging squad, there were no knee jerk reactions to outside noise from within the Australian camp — and five weeks later, Cummins became the first Australian Test captain to turn a 0-1 deficit into a series triumph since Mark Taylor achieved the feat during the 1997 Ashes campaign.

“When you start a series behind, a lot of things get questioned, fairly and unfairly,” Cummins said.

“But I think it shows the strength of the group to stay strong, know that we weren’t at our best but can get better, know we won’t get caught up in the external noise and clutter, and just focus on what makes us good players and a good team.

“That’s one of the most rewarding parts of this series.”

He continued: “You can very easily panic in those situations, and panic a lot.

“It’s more important to realise we’re still number one in the world, we’re a very good team, so stay strong.”

Former Australian spinner Kerry O’Keeffe said the national selectors’ faith in the team’s senior players had reaped dividends, adding that Cummins has led the side superbly during his tenure.

“It means a lot because this is a side that, if they do lose, the age of the team will be questioned. The legacy is that age is just a number and we keep winning,” O’Keeffe said.

“They are an aging team, but they’ll say age is just a number if they keep winning series and big, big Tests.

“If you look at last year, there were chances where they could have not won. Even in New Zealand, they were lucky to get over the line. And Pakistan, if they hadn’t muffed their chances, could easily have won.

“The legacy of this side is that they are an old team, but they’re a very good team.”

Cummins, who is expected to miss next month’s tour of Sri Lanka due to the birth of his second child, turns his attention towards the Champions Trophy in Pakistan and June’s World Test Championship against South Africa at Lord’s.

But for Cummins’ captaincy to be considered in the same echelon as Waugh and Ponting, defeating England and India in their own backyard in two years’s time remains the pinnacle.

The 2027 season, which also includes the 150th Anniversary Test against England at the MCG and a World Cup campaign in South Africa, looms as the final frontier for Cummins and his veteran teammates.