"Going to be talked of in the same breath as McGrath and Lillee" - Michael Vaughan on Pat Cummins

Former England skipper Michael Vaughan believes Pat Cummins will be spoken of in the same breath as all-time Australian greats like Glenn McGrath and Dennis Lillee in the coming years.

2023 for Cummins was one of the best-ever years for a men's cricketer. As captain, he won the World Test Championship (WTC) in England and the World Cup in India, retained the Ashes in England, and took the most Test wickets for a pacer.

He ended it by winning the Player of the Match in the Boxing Day Test (he was awarded the Johnny Mullagh medal for it) against Pakistan in Melbourne. His 10/97 match figures allowed Australia to clinch the three-match series with a game remaining.

“In years gone by, he’s certainly going to be talked of in the same breath as McGrath and Lillee. That [bowling] average is low now, but I think it will get better," Vaughan said on Fox Sports.

Cummins' 250th Test wicket came in the second innings in Melbourne and it broke the key partnership between Agha Salman and Mohammad Rizwan for Pakistan. Australia skittled the lower order quickly after that, winning the Test by 79 runs.

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"He’s going to be one of the all-time greats" - Mark Waugh on Pat Cummins

Speaking on the same show, former Australian batter Mark Waugh said Cummins was "luckless" due to the early injuries he suffered in his career but has only gone higher and is close to achieving an all-time-great status.

“I reckon early in his career he was luckless. He didn’t get a lot of wickets in the first part of his career. He just bowled a fraction short, but he beat the bat a lot. It took him a while for him to get the big numbers up, but he hasn’t looked back the last couple of years. He’s going to be one of the all-time greats," Waugh reckoned.

The next Australia-Pakistan Test will be played from January 3-7 in Sydney.