Perth: Ahead of his side’s first Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy against India, Australian skipper Pat Cummins said that all-rounder Mitchell Marsh is bowling in the match and is in a great physical shape for sending down some spells in order to ease workloads of frontline bowlers.
After securing the ICC World Test Championship, ICC Cricket World Cup in India and several memorable series wins as a captain, Cummins will have another gigantic task in hand as he would be aiming to end Aussies’ 10-year series drought against India and prevent a hat-trick of losses to visitors at home. On the other hand, India seeks to bounce back after a rare, but humiliating home setback against New Zealand, losing 0-3 in a whitewash.
Speaking ahead of the series in a pre-match presser, Cummins said, “Yeah, I mean, I have never quite put an upper limit on anyone. He will definitely bowl this test. Well, he is definitely available to bowl. You know, he is an all-rounder. I do not think he is, you know, with the way kind of us four bowlers are set out, we never really budget an all-rounder bowling, you know, heaps.”
“So I would imagine, you know, a few spells each innings or something like that, but he is ready to go. He has been bowling really well this week. His body is great. Best it has been for a while. So he has had a really good prep lead-in. He is ready to go and happy to bowl as much as we need,” he added.
Speaking about his preparation for the series, which saw him play some white-ball cricket for Australia and New South Wales (NSW) recently after a break, Cummins said, “I feel great. You know, I could not have asked for a better leading. So hopefully it translates into a good summer, but yeah, I have been really lucky to have, you know, four or five months off to build up, get strong, played some white-ball cricket for New South Wales and Australia. And yeah, it is no real hiccup. So I feel, you know, I was strong and as fresh and as fit as I have for a long time.”
Talking about the pitch, Cummins said that it has a “even coverage of grass”. “Yeah, it always looks really good here. So not too sure what to make of it. Been a bit more rain about than they perhaps thought. So it has kind of been on and off covers, but the sun’s out there now baking it. So yeah, see how we go tomorrow, but it looks pretty good,” he added.