The Cummins creed: ruthless not rude

With the first Ashes Test at hand Pat Cummins sets out what he expects from his side and promises a great contest.

Pat Cummins, like opposite number Joe Root, prefers to concentrate on his own game

Pat Cummins wants his players to be ruthless not rude, to be bold but not abrasive as the first of five Ashes Tests gets under way at the Gabba on Wednesday.

Weather permitting.

There is rain predicted for four of the five days, but there has been some sun peaking through the cloud in the past few days, which has the curator a little more hopeful than he had been about the waiting wicket.

Standing in his first game as captain of Australia, Cummins is wise enough to be aware of the rough weather the team’s reputation has encountered in recent years and will know that some of the ground made up since the sandpaper scandal was conceded when revelations of a cover-up around Tim Paine’s captaincy were made public.

Cummins, like his opposite number Joe Root, is a man who prefers to let concentrate on his own game.

“I don’t think you need to go out to pick fights. I’m a big believer in concentrating on our own game, making sure that’s in order, getting ourselves up and not getting too caught up in what the opposition is doing,” he said in his first pre-match press conference.

“Hopefully I’ll be sticking to that and be encouraging teammates to do that, but it’s Test cricket – there’s going to be some heated moments. We’ll keep everyone in check. I think the last few years has put everyone on notice so I don’t really see too many people getting out of line.”

England have played 21 Tests in the past 24 months while Australia have managed just five and all of those have been at home. Both sides, however, are coming off limited preparation with most of Cummins’s players returning from the T20 World cup and the two sides severely restricted by weather and quarantine in the lead-up to the series.

The first Australian fast bowling captain for more than 60 years says, he is not too concerned.

“I’m in a really good place,” Cummins said. “I would say I like to be underdone more than overdone going into a Test series. The body feels great.

“We’ve had probably four or five really good centre wickets whilst we’ve been up here in Queensland over the last few weeks and I just feel in a really good place. All the quicks are bowling really well – feel fresh with no niggles.”

England have already put 39-year-old veteran Jimmy Anderson on ice for the first match and denied it is because of calf issues.

“He’s obviously a great player and it’s a shame that he won’t be out there tomorrow, but it doesn’t change what we’re going do,” Cummins said.

“We’ve had our XI set for a couple of weeks now.”

One narrative that’s fallen from the table in recent months has been question marks around Justin Langer’s relationship with the side. Cummins says things are good and the credit lies with the coach who has adopted a more hands-off approach.

“The last three weeks we’ve had two weeks quarantine and have a week here preparing and he’s been really great,” Cummins said when asked about Langer’s mood.

“Similar to the World Cup, he’s certainly still head coach and I think the environment that he creates not only for the players, but the coaches around him, really empowers the team.

“We’ve seen Michael Di Venuto take charge of the batting and Andrew McDonald take charge of the bowling. It’s just really good, clear roles for everyone in the team.

“And yes, he’s in some ways taken a step back and let the players really dictate the environment they want. It worked incredibly well over in the World Cup and he has a huge credit to do that and hopefully it continues for this summer. He’s been great so far. ”

On paper, Australia has the better side and Cummins has great confidence in the team he leads.

“I think I look around our team we’ve got a pretty special side. We’ve got some of the greats of all time for Australian cricket in that change room,” he said. “If we can get most of them clicking we’re going to be pretty tough to beat.

“It’s a familiar venue. Us quicks really like bowling on it. It’s got good pace and bounce on its day and you feel like you’re in the game.

“It can also be a daunting place if you get it wrong. Batters can get away quickly and you’ve seen all our batters basically pile up big scores here. So we really like playing here.

“The first day is a sell-out, which we love and we haven’t had that for a few years. In terms of conditions that are probably most foreign to England, it’s probably the Gabba with the pace and bounce.”