WTC FinalAustralia captain Pat Cummins blames schedule for lack of warm-up games

By India Today Sports DeskAustralia captain Pat Cummins has justified the decision to not play any warm-up matches ahead of the World Test Championship final and the Ashes, citing the nature of the demanding schedule that allows little time for practise matches.

Since their tour of Pakistan last year, Australia have implemented a no-tour match policy, which is being maintained for their crucial trip to England, which includes a WTC final against India at The Oval from June 7-11, followed by the Ashes from June 16 to July 31.

When asked if the majority of the Australian squad (with the exception of Cameron Green, David Warner in the IPL, and Marnus Labuschagne in County cricket) would be rusty with virtually no game time since the India series, the skipper begged to disagree on Sunday.

“Breaks are rare to come by,” Cummins said.

“I have always said, with six Test matches (including five in the Ashes), it is better to be slightly underdone than overdone. I am talking from a bower’s point of view. So I want to be physically fresh.

“Back home, we did lot of training. We have trained hard, rejuvenated and refreshed and are keen,” Cummins brushed aside talks of rustiness during ICC’s ‘Afternoon with Test Legends’ event at the Oval.

Cummins described the surface as good with a lot of bounce, and he believes his squad has enough bowlers to take advantage of the circumstances.

“You need to know your moments to push for wickets. We need to get 20 wickets and there is no point trying everything in the first innings. We have plenty of bowlers to be used at different times,” Cummins said.

Australia have won only two Tests at the Oval in the last 50 years, with an overall victory percentage of 14 percent at the South London venue.

“Our playing group hasn’t played too many of those 50 Tests. We have played few Ashes games, most of us. Few guys have scored runs and bowlers have had some pace and bounce. So it should be good,” the skipper said.

Cummins believed that his squad had truly turned the corner during this WTC cycle after missing the bus the last time.

In fact, he admitted that till they “missed out” on playing the final in the inaugural championship cycle in 2021, they haven’t really spoken about it.

“That (missing the final) has been the driving force behind the team and we deserve to play the final,” he said.

He stated that if one team provided them the most push, it has to be the Indian team, which has won back-to-back series in Australia.

“I think at home we have been pretty formidable and only (beaten) by Rohit’s team (Virat Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane’s team) in last couple of tours… we have been troubled. Everyone is hitting their grooves and some are at back (end) of (their) careers and at top of their games,” Cummins said.