It’s been one of the most hectic years on the calendar for Australia’s male cricketers, but fast bowlers Mitchell Starc and Pat Cummins have scoffed at suggestions they will be rested during the upcoming home Test summer.
In the past eight months alone, the Aussies have toured India, won the World Test Championships, retained the Ashes in the UK, won the ODI World Cup in India, where some squad members have stayed behind for a T20 series, and are now getting ready for a three-Test series against Pakistan starting on December 14 before they take on the West Indies.
Rest, rotation and workloads have become buzz words in international cricket, but Starc – who was angry to be left out of Australia’s final pool match at the World Cup – shook his head when asked if something similar would happen this summer.
Cummins also seems keen to play every red-ball match over the next couple of months, with the skipper unwilling to miss any games given he had to wait six years between his first and second Tests.
“You’re always dealing with something as a bowler. When your hamstring starts to feel good, you suddenly feel pain somewhere else in your body and then you wake up the next day and it’s moved somewhere else in your body,” Cummins said.
“Realistically, the words ‘rested’ and ‘rotated’ gets thrown around a lot, but you never miss a Test if you’re fully fit.
“While the last couple of years we might have been rested for the odd game, the bulk of work that we’ve been able to do (has helped).
“Potentially (it may happen), but if we’re fully fit, then we won’t be rested.”
The pair were at the SCG on Tuesday to show off the World Cup trophy, a day after Starc and fellow quick Josh Hazlewood spent time in the nets to get back in red-ball mode.
Starc and Cummins confirmed they had registered for next year’s IPL but wouldn’t play a part in the upcoming BBL, with the quicks turning their attention to the Test arena.
“The mind and the body know what time of year it is,” Starc, 33, said.
“Particularly for Josh, Pat and I, it’s been done for a few summers now.
“It’s either been a quick transition between white ball to red ball or coming off a winter tour to summer.
“It’s nothing new to us, likewise for Smithy (Steve Smith) and Davey (David Warner) who have done it for a long time as well.
“The preparation is different every year depending on where you’ve come from and what’s coming up, but for Pat and I, it’s a few sessions of bowling and maybe a few rounds of golf and then off to Perth.”
