Australian captain Pat Cummins began preparing for a huge summer of Test matches later this year, beginning in November with the much-awaited Border Gavaskar Trophy against India.
The first Test of the Border-Gavaskar series between Australia and India is slated to take place in Perth on November 22. After BGT, there will be an away Test series against Sri Lanka according to the schedule.
Cummins uploaded a video of himself bowling in the nets on Instagram. The Australian sensation was practicing like it was a game, showing off incredible energy throughout his run-up and release.
“I’m getting ready for an incredible summer,” Cummins tweeted. Let’s get started with the first few bowls following the preseason break.
The pacer last participated in the Major League Cricket (MLC) competition while playing for the San Francisco Unicorns team in the United States. The Washington Freedom, captained by Steve Smith, defeated his club in the championship game. Cummins played in six games, claiming four wickets at an average of 52.17 and his highest total of 2/35.
The 2023 ICC Men’s Cricketer of the Year had a fantastic year, winning both the ICC Cricket World Cup and the ICC World Test Championship after beating India in the finals of both tournaments. Additionally, by drawing a hard-fought series 2-2, he was instrumental in Australia’s retention of the Ashes urn in the United Kingdom last year. Cummins will be eager to go out there and lead his side to a much-needed series victory over India, who hold an advantage over Australia with two series victories on their territory. India has been relatively successful against Australia in the Border Gavaskar Trophy, having won every series since 2017.
In order to be ready for the series against India, Cummins is hoping to play in the Sheffield Shield competition. In preparation for the home series against India, which will occupy seven weeks of the calendar, and two Test matches in Sri Lanka, Cummins took some time off and concentrated on his strength and fitness, missing the current white-ball tour of Australia to the UK, according to ESPNCricinfo.
Cummins has only participated in nine Sheffield Shield games throughout his career; his most recent match was for New South Wales in February 2021. NSW’s Shield match against Victoria will begin on October 20. On November 1, they will play Queensland.
With an average of 25.45 and peak figures of 6/27, Cummins has taken 46 wickets in 12 BGT encounters, ranking him 13th in the series and sixth among Australians in the highly-coveted bilateral fixture.
The thrilling day-night format will be present in the second Test, which is slated to take place at Adelaide Oval from December 6 to 10, under the stadium’s lights. Following that, supporters will focus on The Gabba in Brisbane for the third Test, which is scheduled for December 14–18.
The series will reach its concluding stage with the traditional Boxing Day Test, which is scheduled for December 26 to 30 at Melbourne’s illustrious Melbourne Cricket Ground.
The series finale, the fifth and final Test, which promises to be a dramatic end to a thrilling match, will take place at the Sydney Cricket Ground from January 3 to January 7.
