Ban the bubbly! Australia captain Pat Cummins pauses his side’s boozy Ashes celebrations to hide champagne so muslim team-mate Usman Khawaja can join in after helping seal dominant win over England
- Australia completed a 4-0 victory over England in the Ashes on Sunday
- After lifting the trophy, hosts captain Pat Cummins paused the festivities
- With champagne ready, Usman Khawaja was shying away due to his muslim faith
- Cummins was praised for hiding the alcohol to get Khawaja in to share the joy
Pat Cummins wanted every contributor to Australia’s demolition of England in shot for their celebrations, ditching the champagne so Usman Khawaja could join in.
The hosts tore through Joe Root’s batsmen for another commanding victory on Sunday, sealing the Ashes with a 4-0 victory after the fifth and final Test.
Cummins and Co had already popped their bottles and enjoyed frothy hosing with the urn, when the skipper spotted Khawaja standing aside.
Australia captain Pat Cummins was praised for making sure Usman Khawaja could celebrate
The top-order batsman is a Pakistani-born Aussie and of muslim faith – a religion strictly against the consumption of and association with alcohol.
Keen to celebrate as a team, Cummins made the call to hide the bubbly and began waving for Khawaja to join in alongside Steve Smith at the front.
With stretched smiles all-round, Cummins waited for Khawaja before Australia let out a collective roar for the cameras.
The gesture was widely praised on social media, with the Australia captain’s gesture a sign of progress in the game rocked by scandals last year.
Cummins skipppered Khawaja and Co to a 4-0 series victory over England Down Under
The presence of alcohol at celebrations has also led Moeen Ali to back away from his team
@irfan_m1 wrote on Twitter: ‘Well Done Pat Cummins, well played. Including Khawaja in the celebrations after he had to run out because of the booze.
‘A small but powerful gesture.’
@babai1994_ added: ‘Cummins is a gem of a guy. Every player would love to have a leader who looks after those little perks.’
England have made a similar effort for the likes of Moeen Ali in the past, with Root delaying the spraying so the muslim star could get involved.