Australia captain Pat Cummins talked about his team’s lack of practice ahead of the ICC WTC 2023 final against Australia at the Oval in London from June 7-11. This is the first time Australia had qualified for the WTC final, while India will be playing their second consecutive final after their first appearance in 2021 edition.
However, interestingly, the Australian side will play in the final directly after opting against playing a practice game ahead of the summit clash. This was surprising as apart from David Warner, who played in IPL 2023, and Marnus Labuschagne and Steve Smith, who played in the English County Championship, the majority of Australians played Test cricket back in March against India in India.
“Breaks are rare to come by. 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 describes the surface as good with plenty of bounce and is certain that his team has enough bowlers to take advantage of the circumstances. After missing the bus the last time, Cummins believed that his team had made significant progress during this round of the WTC.
Everyone Is Hitting Their Grooves: Pat Cummins
He said that among all teams if one side gave them the maximum push, it has to be the Indian team, which has won back-to-back series Down Under.
“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.
Australia had a dismal record in the past at the Oval in London with a win percentage of 14 in the last 50 Test matches. Pat Cummins, however, said that not many of his players were part of the record and have the quality to sustain.
“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.