Australia v India 3rd Test: Pat Cummins sings praises of Will Pucovski ahead of Aussie debut
The world’s premier paceman went ‘flat out’ at Will Pucovski in the nets – and came away confident the concussion-prone kid won’t have a problem in his Baggy Green debut.
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Will Pucovski made the world’s No.1 attack “feel like very slow bowlers” in the SCG nets to help secure a Baggy Green two years after he considered walking away from cricket.
Pucovski, 22, and David Warner, 34, will form a brand new opening partnership on Thursday that Australia hopes can blow apart the suffocation strategy that India’s bowlers have perfected in the first two Tests.
Spearhead Patrick Cummins went “flat out” at Pucovski in the nets on Tuesday – and said the concussion-prone kid struck the short balls sweetly.
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“It’s pretty standard to rip in a couple days out from a Test match, and Puc played them (bouncers) comfortably,” Cummins told News Corp.
“As bowlers we get our bodies ready and batters get to face to try and sharpen up ahead of the game.
“He made us all feel like very slow bowlers.”
Warner’s old partner Chris Rogers has given Pucovski a crash course on opening the batting with the destructive force, telling Pucovski not to be intimidated if Warner bolts out of the blocks.
A smiling Pucovski and Langer shared a first bump and bum tap after completing fielding drills at training on Wednesday and the Victorian then faced up to another marathon net session.
Warner and Pucovski batted together in the nets on Tuesday and Warner finished Wednesday’s nets session by giving Pucovski throwdowns, which he previously did with punted partner Joe Burns.
Every sign points to Pucovski becoming Australia’s 460th Test player, and Victoria’s only member of the XI.
Pucovski suffered his ninth concussion facing India in a tour match last month as fears escalated that a history of blows to the head and mental health challenges could sabotage a promising career.
But an independent neurologist cleared Pucovski to play on Monday and the batting prodigy has left selectors convinced he is ready to face the fire of Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj.
Pucovski has openly discussed his ongoing mental health challenges after taking breaks from playing to work on his wellbeing.
Pucovski spent the COVID-19 break training his mental muscles with mindfulness coach Emma Murray, and blasted 255 not-out and 202 in his first two innings to start the Sheffield Shield season, becoming the first batsman to score consecutive double-hundreds since 1997-98.
He averages 54.5 in first-class cricket.
When Pucovski first started speaking with Murray he revealed he was unsure whether he still wanted to play.
But the impressive right-hander from Hampton has grown considerably under Murray, always with the goal of steeling himself for a lengthy Test career rather than a hurried debut.
Murray taught Pucovski to wiggle his toes between deliveries to sharpen his focus and the red-ball specialist could now be Australia’s answer to Indian wall Cheteshwar Pujara.
Pucovski faced 732 deliveries without getting dismissed to start the Shield season and has deleted all cricket apps off his phone to block out distractions.
But the coronavirus outbreak in Sydney has meant Pucovski’s girlfriend Emma Stonier will watch his Test debut at home in Melbourne on TV.
“Everyone’s hugely impressed with his temperament as a batter at such a young age,” Cummins said.
“The great thing is he’s scored so many runs in Shield cricket that it’s great that a young guy can come in and know their game so well.
“Like anyone that’s starting out in their first game, they might not perform straight away.
“It might take him time, but he’s done all the right things to get him there and I’m excited to see what he can do.”
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Originally published as Australia v India 3rd Test: Pat Cummins sings praises of Will Pucovski ahead of Aussie debut
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