- By Vishal Pushkar
- Sun, 04 Jun 2023 04:01 PM (IST)
- Source:IANS
JE Sports Desk: Skipper Pat Cummins backed Australia's no tour game policy and stated that the hectic schedule leaves them no time to play any practice games. Notably, Cummins and co. will play World Test Championship final against India followed by a 5-match test series (Ashes) in the month of June and July against England.
"It's the nature of the schedule. But we feel really good. We've had a good prep up in Brisbane for a few days. It's a pretty busy couple of months coming up and six Tests in two months is really hectic. You'd rather be fresh at the end of it than worn out. We've got a pretty experienced squad and have all played in England before, so we'll be as ready as we'll ever be," Cummins was quoted as saying by The Sydney Morning Herald.
Cummins prepped for the tour of England through attending pre-season training at New South Wales' Cricket Central since April with fellow quicks Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood before going to a pre-tour camp at the Centre of Excellence in Brisbane, followed by more preparation at Beckham, Kent's second county ground, in England.
With Australia not playing any warm-up game has invited criticism from many, including former captain Allan Border, veteran left-handed opener David Warner feels tour matches could become 'a waste of time', as conditions for such games are completely different from the ones seen in a Test match.
"We're playing so much cricket these days with so many people coming off different kinds of cricket or no cricket and getting their workloads up in their own way under supervision. I think when you've played a long time, another warm-up game isn't going to get you ready," said Cummins.
"Why wouldn't we just have a four-day session against our bowlers, and they can bowl the whole day and I can bat against the best bowlers in the world. It just makes sense.
From our perspective, you only need two good hit-outs then a couple of training sessions in and around that. If you have a warm-up game but you nick off, then you're standing around for six hours," he concluded.
Inputs from IANS
