Cummins breaking the mould
Tim Cummins is proof the extraordinary talent in his family does not just lie solely with either the bat or ball.
The 20 year-old is the older brother of Australian-contracted cricketing brother, Patrick, who has burst onto the scene with his performances in the domestic competition for NSW.
Instead of living in his noted brother’s shadow, Tim, an accomplished cricketer, himself, has been making heads turn with his performances in the Penrith senior AFL side, which is currently second on the Division Two ladder.
Given this talent, Cummins is level-headed in his approach to his sporting career.
“I am naturally proud of Pat’s achievements, and I guess you always have the goal of becoming a professional in any sport you play,” he said.
“Currently, I’m more than happy of getting my weekly fix of sport on a Saturday.”
The natural sportsman first played AFL in 2006 and won the Club Under 16 Best and Fairest Award ahead of current East Coast Eagles Premier Division player, Josh Shephard.
His rate of development has impressed all at the club, according to Penrith chairman and his first coach, Kevin Tate.
“Tim is an impressive young man both on and off the field who oozes class,” Tate said.
“It says a lot for a man who was selected in the Under 16, 18 and 19 NSW Cricket squads and also is more than competent at tennis, golf and ballroom dancing.”
Cummins noted the support of his family for his rich sporting background.
“Our parents have always encouraged all of us boys plus our two sisters to play and enjoy sport, and they have spent countless hours driving us around Sydney for our different sports,” he said.
“Our grandparents are also frequent spectators so we’ve been very lucky to have so much support in that respect.”
The hunt for talent has been much more publicised in recent times with more clubs in the AFL having the desire to attract top athletes outside of the traditional AFL playing pathway.
For Cummins, who could potentially be playing top-level cricket in England next year with his older brother, Matthew; his sights are set firmly on achieving success for Penrith.
“The club on the whole has built a really good culture right the way through from Senior to Under 18s which means essentially you’re playing with your mates every Saturday which has been really enjoyable,” he said.
“The top four teams look very even, but given we have key players coming back from injury and work commitments, I think there is every chance we can go all the way this year.”
Last Modified on 21/08/2011 14:49