Aussie speedster Pat Cummins reveals where he found strength to beat bubble for world tour
Any concerns the Australian pace battery is gassed has been extinguished by paceman Pat Cummins as he revs up for his very own race around the world.
Cricket
Don't miss out on the headlines from Cricket. Followed categories will be added to My News.
As the rest of the world starts to wilt, a turbocharged Pat Cummins says he is still bursting with energy inside cricket’s biosecurity bubble.
Australia will carry an unchanged attack through the Border-Gavaskar series with coach Justin Langer wanting his fast bowlers to soldier on in Brisbane in the manner of Rick McCosker, Steve Waugh and Allan Border.
Cummins, 27, is ready to power through the fourth Test and on to South Africa for another three-Test series and then to the Indian Premier League.
Watch Australia v India Test Series Live & Ad-Break Free During Play with the Fox Cricket commentary team. New to Kayo? Get your free trial now & start streaming instantly >
While that would probably see the world’s best bowler spend the majority of February through to May trapped inside bubbles, the workhorse has not suffered severe mental or physical fatigue so far this summer.
Australia is also hoping to reach the World Test Championship, which should be played at Lord’s in June.
“I feel really lucky I got that seven or eight days at home (during the white-ball series in December) to reset ahead of the Test matches,” Cummins told News Corp.
“So I feel in a good place. After the Gabba Test match hopefully we’ll have another couple of weeks (off) before we go overseas for a couple of different trips.”
Much to coach Justin Langer’s frustration, Australia is expected to play a T20 series in New Zealand and a Test series in South Africa simultaneously as cricket boards look to stimulate each other’s finances after the COVID-19 pandemic.
Some players are likely to then skip the lucrative IPL as fears rise that bubble life cannot be sustained much longer.
But Cummins all but guaranteed he would be ready to fire.
“Three Test matches over in South Africa is still the plan, then most likely after that there’s an IPL somewhere,” Cummins said.
“We’ll have to wait until we get a bit closer to see what that (IPL) looks like.
“Whether you have to quarantine on either side, whether it’s a hard lockdown or your family can come or whatever it is.
“But at this stage I’m really keen to get over there.”
India is hoping to host this year’s IPL although it cold again be staged in the UAE due to coronavirus.
There was an intense IPL bidding war for Cummins last year.
He was bought by Kolkata Knight Riders by $3.2 million and knocked over Steve Smith and Ben Stokes in one over on his way to figures of 4-34 in one match.
Smith captained Rajasthan Royals last year but is likely to be released back into next month’s auction.
Cummins bowled just 63.3 overs across the first two Tests but sweated through 47.7 overs in the draw at the SCG. He leads the series with 15 wickets.
But Cummins, speaking on the eve of the Sydney Test, said he was ready to shoulder a big workload.
“The first two Test matches I’ve bowled 30-odd overs in each,” Cummins said.
“I’m ready to bowl heaps of overs in these last two if needed.
“Mentally I feel in a good place, and physically in a great place.”
RUNNING ON EMPTY? AUSSIE ATTACK LOOKS GASSED
There’s nothing quite like the look on a boxer’s face when he lands his best punch on his opponent’s jaw only to see him smile and ask “is that all you’ve got mate?’’
Australia suddenly has this feeling of numb vulnerability after watching the kitchen sink they threw at magnificent India bounce off their shields of steel and roll into the gutter.
This draw will stand as an eternal golden stud in the history of Indian cricket, a result which says more about the fight and character of Indian game than most of their famous wins.
If Melbourne was their finest offshore win, surely this was their finest draw.
Australia has drawn the unlosable Test. And it wasn’t even a close thing.
The wish is that this stunning draw will make India fall in love with Test cricket all over again because if India loves Test cricket the game will never die.
Stunned by the force of India’s will Australia was reduced to tasteless sledging at the end with Tim Paine dropping three catches for the day in what he called one of his worst performances.
That India holds the Border-Gavaskar Trophy means Australia must attack at full throttle at the Gabba for they need a win to regain the silverware.
The key will be not to snatch at it. Mitchell Starc’s radar is scrambling to the point where he bowling far too many leg-side balls.
The selectors will debate dropping him for James Pattinson or Michael Neser in Brisbane but both lack match hardness.
What does it say about the majesty of Test cricket that a batsman could score 23 runs off 161 balls yet it was the most suspenseful innings of the summer?
Hanuma Vihari, he of the suddenly torn hamstring and Test match average in the early 30s, stood firm against Australia to make himself an instant hero.
His strike rate was one of the slowest in Test history yet history will remember his innings kindly. No matter what happens in the rest of his career, he’ll always have Sydney.
What a stunning performance. India have nigh close to a full team unavailable for or injured in this match with KL Rahul, Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant, Ravi Jadeja, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Umesh Yadav, Ishant Sharma, and Mohammed Shami either gone or incapacitated.
This Indian team is remarkable for way they have stood firm despite losing their captain, a legion of fast bowlers, all three tosses and being racially sledged on three days of this match.
Did we doubt them? Of course we did. Only the truest of believers thought they could manage a draw on Monday.
It was said after Melbourne and it’s true. They don’t fear Australia. Day after day they play the ball and not the man. There is no sense Australia’s home town aura is any sort of weapon against them.
The benefits for India of this result are huge. Not only have they demystified Australia’s attack, they have gassed them as well.
Australia’s world class attack finished this match in a state of red-faced exhaustion.
They could be bowling against at the Gabba at 10am on Friday and only then would we truly find out how much petrol is in the tank.
Indian have been chastened by some harsh words in Sydney this week but there was one sledge that would have given them instant delight.
“We will get you in Brisbane,’’ came the chirp with 11 overs to go.
It sounded very much as if Australia was already taking their eye of the potentially miracle late comeback and were already looking ahead.
More Coverage
Originally published as Aussie speedster Pat Cummins reveals where he found strength to beat bubble for world tour
Fresh faces to push Test cases in Aus A squad
A suite of fresh faces are poised to included in an Australia A squad that will take on India A later this month, as the battle for the remaining spot in the Aussie Test team heats up.
‘I’ll be half a chance’: Harris puts hand up for Aussie selection
Australian selectors will provide an early steer on potential replacements for Cameron Green when they unveil an Australia A squad, with a former Test opener appearing to be a good chance for selection.