Aussie skipper in excellent shape and eyeing another piece of ICC silverware
In a warning to the world’s batters, Pat Cummins has declared he is feeling better than he has for years.
Fixing up an “iffy” ankle and taking paternity leave has allowed the star quick to return to top shape for Australia’s World Test Championship final against South Africa.
After leading Australia to a drought-breaking Border-Gavaskar trophy victory against India in January, Cummins didn’t play at all until the Indian Premier League started at the end of March.
The 32-year-old missed Australia’s tour of Sri Lanka for the arrival of his second child, Edith, in February.
“Having a bit of a break before the IPL; paternity leave and getting my ankle, which was a little bit iffy, fixed up, so physically I feel as good as I have in years,” Cummins told AAP.
“I’ve been able to have a good couple of bowls over here in England.
“The IPL’s always pretty long, but (Australia assistant coach) Dan Vettori is coach (of Sunrisers Hyderabad) and Trav Head, family made it over.
“It feels like I have a lot of bandwidth and feel fresh.”
After training at Beckenham on arrival in England, Australia moved across to the famous Lord’s on Sunday to prepare for the WTC decider, which starts on Wednesday.
Cummins’ side is gunning for back-to-back WTC crowns, after beating India in the 2023 final at The Oval.
Despite England rival Ben Stokes previously talking down the WTC, now completing its third cycle, the Aussie skipper has hailed the concept.
“It’s an ICC event where every Test playing nation is competing, so we want to win that,” Cummins said. “Someone’s going to win the trophy. We want it to be us.
“It gives relevance to some two-match series that perhaps otherwise get lost in the calendar. We talk about it a lot. We think it’s awesome.
“We’ve had a really good few years as a Test side. We’ve been No.1 for a long time, but to actually have one, hopefully two trophies to show for this era as well, that would be really nice.”
The first three finals have all been held in England, with this edition the first to take place at Lord’s.
With the increasingly packed cricket calendar, fitting in the WTC decider following the end of the IPL makes the most sense.
“Logistically, it seems like that’s probably the easiest way to have one venue,” said Cummins.
“It’d be nice, maybe the previous winner hosts that for the next time, or something like that.
“But as an alternative, I think having it at Lord’s every cycle is also a pretty good place.”
World Test Championship Final
June 11-15: South Africa v Australia, Lord’s
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Australia squad: Pat Cummins (c), Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Usman Khawaja, Sam Konstas, Matt Kuhnemann, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Beau Webster. Travelling reserve: Brendan Doggett
South Africa squad: Temba Bavuma (c), David Bedingham, Corbin Bosch, Tony de Zorzi, Marco Jansen, Keshav Maharaj, Aiden Markram, Wiaan Mulder, Senuran Muthusamy, Lungi Ngidi, Dane Paterson, Kagiso Rabada, Ryan Rickelton, Tristan Stubbs, Kyle Verreynne
