With two back-to-back series defeats at home during the Border Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) in 2018-19 and 2020-21, the current red-ball captain of the Australian team, Pat Cummins, is keen to end the drought of winning a Test series against the Indian team, which came in 2014 under the leadership of Micheal Clarke.
Pat Cummins recently took sweet revenge for the defeats during the final of the second cycle of the World Test Championship (WTC) 2021-23, where they blew away the Rohit Sharma-led side, thanks to their clinical all-rounder performance at the Kennington Oval in London.
Under his captaincy, Australia lost the first couple of Tests in India at the start of the last year before he missed the last two games due to family reasons. However, beating India in a BGT series is his only goal at the moment.
Pat Cummins bets on these two all-rounders to do well against India
In an aim to keep him fresh and in rhythm, Australia selectors decided to give their captain a break from the upcoming white-ball series in England and Scotland, as Pat Cummins is expected to feature in a few games for New South Wales in the Shield games before the five-match series.
With five Tests to be played in six weeks, both sides will be keen to manage the workload of their pace bowlers, and in that case, the role of the fast bowling all-rounders will be vital to give them around 10-14 overs in a day, so that the pacers can come back and burst into short and sharp spells.
The veteran pacer has addressed the role of both, Cameron Green and Mitchell Marsh, will be essential for the home side, especially with the ball in their hand.
“The last couple of summers have been pretty light, quick test matches. I suspect this summer might be a bit different at times. We’ll be drawing on Cam Green and Mitch Marsh a bit more.” Pat Cummins expressed to the reporters on Monday in Sydney. “Even someone like Cam Green started in Shield cricket as a bowler, but hasn’t had to bowl heaps in test matches.”
Green made his debut in the longest format of the game during the 2020-21 BGT series, as he has featured in 28 games in the format for Australia to smash 1377 runs at an average of 36.23, with the help of six half-centuries and a couple of centuries. He has also picked up 35 wickets in 44 innings, at an average of over 35.
Mitchell Marsh has cemented his spot in the national side in recent times. The 32-year-old has smacked 2010 runs in 42 games at an average of 30.45, besides picking up 48 wickets at an average of 40. The aggression of the Western Australian batter has helped his side on many occasions to overcome the early struggle with the bat in hand.
“We’re really lucky Nathan Lyon bowls plenty of overs, so you don’t necessarily have to have an all-rounder. But it makes a big difference to have that fifth bowling option. We have six.” Pat Cummins revealed during the conversation.
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The veteran player may also skip their upcoming T20I and ODI series against Pakistan to start the summer after two years of non-stop bowling.
“The priority at the moment is to smash out some gym work and start reassessing in a few weeks a path forward. I’m just trying to fill up the bucket again after two years of non-stop bowling. come that first test in as good of a position as I have been in for a few years.” Pat Cummins concluded.
The BGT 2024-25 will start on November 22 at the Optus Stadium in Perth.