Last Updated on 2 seconds ago by Charbel Coorey
Pat Cummins is likely to use Australia’s ODI series against South Africa in September as part of his build-up to the Test matches that will follow. Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood are also likely to be involved in the one-day games.
Cummins is still the official ODI captain of Australia, but he has not played much of the format since the 2023 World Cup final against India in Ahmedabad. Since then he has played just two ODIs, with Steven Smith, Mitchell Marsh and Josh Inglis having captained the side at different times.
Australia will first play Zimbabwe in a three-match ODI series starting September 15, 18, and 20. Cummins is not expected to be available for that leg of the tour before joining up with the squad for the South Africa series later in the month.
Pat Cummins: “I think the focus is on the Test series”
“We’ll probably all have, I imagine, a week or two off bowling, still do your gym work, and then we’ll start building up for that series. I’ll probably have an extra week here if I don’t play the Zimbabwe tour. I think I’ll be part of at least some of the South Africa ODIs,” said Cummins after the Mackay Test against Bangladesh, as quoted by Fox Cricket.
“I’m not sure I should say this, but I think the focus is on the Test series. So a lot of the white-ball [series], and how we play that, would be with an eye on the red ball. So I’d imagine it’d be one, two, and probably a maximum of three games out of those six [against Zimbabwe and South Africa].
“They’re a really strong side,” Cummins said of South Africa. “We had a big series against them here in Australia a couple of years back and we probably exceeded expectations, played really well, and then they got us back at Lord’s last year and outplayed us there.
“So it’s going to be big, obviously, in their home conditions [and] places we haven’t played Test cricket in for a while. So conditions are always a little bit unknown. Even the difference between Durban to, say, Cape Town can be quite different styles of pitches. It’s going to be great. That’s why I love playing Test cricket. It’s all about different conditions, different opponents, and different parts of the world. Can’t wait.”
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