Cricket: Australian captain Pat Cummins pauses boozy Ashes celebrations to include teammate Usman Khawaja

The Australian team celebrate after the fifth test of the Ashes. Photo / Getty

Pat Cummins has been praised for pausing Australia's boozy celebrations after their demolition of England so teammate Usman Khawaja could join in.

The hosts thrashed England in another dominant victory on Sunday in the fifth and final test of the Ashes to seal the series 4-0.

As Australia popped bottles of champagne in celebration, Cummins spotted Khawaja standing aside.

Khawaja, who is a Pakistani-born Aussie of muslim faith, stood away from the team as his religion forbids the consumption of and association with alcohol.

Keen to celebrate with his whole team, Cummins made the call to hide the champagne and waved Khawaja over to celebrate alongside his teammates.

Cummins and Co waited for Khawaja before collectively cheering in front of the cameras.

Pat Cummins realises Usman Khawaja had to step aside because of the alcohol spraying celebrations, asks his other teammates to put the drinks away and calls Khawaja back over to the centre of the victory photo to celebrate. This was nice ❤pic.twitter.com/zykZ4bWa9Y

— Aatif Nawaz (@AatifNawaz) January 16, 2022

Cummins' gesture received wide support from fans on social media, with many praising his leadership.

"Absolute class," said one fan. "Would be so easy to get caught up in the moment of winning your first Ashes series as captain and not even notice."

"Well Done Pat Cummins, well played," said another. "Including Khawaja in the celebrations after he had to run out because of the booze.

"A small but powerful gesture."

The Australian captain's gesture was also labelled by some as a sign of progress for the sport which was rocked by scandals last year.