Pat Cummins supports cautious approach ahead of World Test Championship final and Ashes
Australia captain Pat Cummins has justified the decision by Cricket Australia to opt against warm-up matches before the upcoming World Test Championship final and the Ashes in England.
Pat Cummins.Australian skipper Pat Cummins has backed the decision not to play warm-up games ahead of the World Test Championship and the Ashes.
Australia have adopted a "no-tour-match" policy since their tour to Pakistan in March 2022 as they seek to revitalize their squad ahead of the vital trip to England.
The Aussies will face India in the World Test Championship final at the Oval on 7 June, which will be followed by five Ashes Tests between June and July.
Cummins has leapt to the defence of this cautious approach, denying claims that most of the Australian stars would be rusty due to not playing much cricket since the Test series defeat against India in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
"Breaks are rare to come by," said the third-ranked bowler in Test cricket.
"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 bowler's point of view. So I want to be physically fresh. Back home, we did a lot of training. We have trained hard, rejuvenated and refreshed and are keen."
The Aussies made it to the World Test Championship final after securing the top spot on the points table for the 2021-23 cycle with 66.67 percentage points in 19 matches.
<p>Australia are also the defending champions for the Ashes trophy.</p>
The 30-year-old also spoke about what he expects conditions to be like for the upcoming matches and is optimistic about their approach to get wickets when they are most needed.
"You need to know your moments to push for wickets. We need to get 20 wickets and there is no point trying everything in the first innings. We have plenty of bowlers to be used at different times.
Our playing group hasn't played too many of those 50 Tests. We have played a few Ashes games, most of us. Few guys have scored runs and bowlers have had some pace and bounce. So it should be good," concluded the Australian skipper.
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