No one in world cricket knows the anguish of feeling caged by an untrustworthy body quite like Pat Cummins, who spent six lonely years of recurring injuries between his first and second Tests.
It’s why he is well-placed to take a long-term view of one of Australian cricket’s most precious assets. In a wide-ranging interview with this masthead on the cusp of the summer, Test captain Cummins declared he was willing to go without Cameron Green for the impending showdown with India if it meant the 25-year-old all-rounder could overcome his back issues. Cummins also revealed a plan to usher the next generation into national colours, and opened up on his own longevity as skipper.
Australian captain Pat Cummins spoke about the management of Cameron Green’s injuries, Australia’s rising cricket stars, including Sam Konstas and this summer’s battle with India.Credit: Stephen Kiprillis
Cummins on Green
While Cummins did not submit to the surgery now prescribed for Green to stabilise historical back stress fractures, he empathised for how the 25-year-old wishes to be the best cricketer he can be, rather than foregoing his gift for pace bowling to concentrate on life as a batter who bowls occasionally.
“Really sympathetic,” Cummins said. “We want him bowling, Cam wants to be bowling, and he has a long career ahead of him. So it’s about trying to place Cam the cricketer in the best position he can be to have the career that he’s hoping for. He’s young, so I’m sure he’ll be right in the long run.
“Bowling and trying to bowl fast is unfortunately fraught with injuries. In some ways, the hardest thing is missing cricket and seeing games go by that you could have been part of, but also it can be a pretty lonely way back.
Cameron Green bowling in the UK. Credit: Getty Images
“You don’t just set the clock and suddenly, you’re back, there is a bit of work to get back and rehabbing and building up as well. It’s always a challenge.
“It looks like Greeny is going to have that situation, which is not uncommon for him unfortunately, so he knows what needs to be done, but that doesn’t make it any easier.”
Why Cummins skipped England trip
Cummins missed the recent white ball tour of Scotland and England, but explained how the time at home and in the gym was an investment in the next 12 months.
It means, among other things, that he will be back up towards his top pace in the 145km/h range, the better to challenge India’s top order on bouncy tracks as Australia seek to regain the Border-Gavaskar Trophy for the first time since 2015.
“We basically bowl all year round so it means you never get longer than a few days off really at a time,” Cummins said. “So niggles build, or your body gets sore, and it’s really hard to try to have a reset and put some work into your body until you have a big chunk of time off.
“… By having a couple of months off it means you can do some exercise you can’t normally do while in the middle of playing mode, and that sets you up for the next 12 months really.
“The other part of it is you can try to bowl all year round, but you get fatigued, your pace goes down, maybe your accuracy goes down, your risk of injury goes up. So we want to make sure we are minimising risk and also setting up to perform as best you can as well.”
How long will Cummins captain Australia for?
At the end of last year, Cummins pinpointed 2027 as the next big year for the national team, albeit with a couple of major home summers against India and England in between.
Cummins says he has grown into the role f Test captain.Credit: Getty
Having initially thought about finishing up as skipper around the 2025 mark, Cummins is now open to going all the way to 2027, although he would prefer to keep the current coaching staff headed by Andrew McDonald around him to do so.
“[That’s] still a bit of a wait and see, but maybe I can go a little bit longer than I first thought,” he said. “I feel like I can manage a lot more than what I did back then, just by getting better at it and having some wonderful people around that help as well. It feels like a pretty well-run machine at the moment where the coaches, staff, all the players get on with the work and [I] don’t need to be as hands-on as when I first came in.
“But that might change as well with younger guys coming into the team in the next few years. I’m not going to do it forever, but I wouldn’t say it’s imminent that I’m going to step away. [2027] is the big question, but it’s a long way away.
“At the moment I’m loving the role, it’s going well. With ‘Ronnie’ (McDonald) and the coaching staff we want to keep that together because that makes my job a little bit easier as well.
“We’ve spoken about it, but I probably won’t say any more than that.”
What happens with the batting order?
Cummins and McDonald are yet to map out the top six for India, with Steve Smith’s recent move to open less likely to continue in Green’s likely absence. Travis Head, Mitchell Marsh and even Marnus Labuschagne have been tossed up as alternatives.
Outside the team, the likes of Matt Renshaw, Marcus Harris and Cameron Bancroft have been mentioned often, while Tasmania’s Beau Webster has been presenting a strong case as the next best all-round option.
Travis Head is a contender to open. Credit: AP
“It’s up to me and Ron to set the order,” Cummins said. “I know there’s always commentary around everything to do with cricket. You listen to some, you don’t listen to others, but we’re still a fair way out from the series, so still a bit of water to go under the bridge…”
India: a war of attrition
The Border-Gavaskar Trophy will be decided over five gruelling Tests, starting in Perth on November 22.
After series losses to India on home soil in 2018-19 and 2020-21, Cummins believes it will be survival of the fittest.
India’s captain Rohit Sharma with Jasprit Bumrah.Credit: AP
But he also feels as though Australia are better placed than for either of the previous two tours, which were affected by the Sandpaper bans and COVID-19.
“The couple of home series I’ve played against India there’s always an element of attrition to them,” he said.
“The last series came down to the last session at the Gabba on the last day of the last Test match.
“That’s a good thing to keep in mind; it is a long series, and it might be tightly held until the last game, so you’ve got to manage your resources throughout.”
Indian media reported on Friday that captain Rohit Sharma could miss one of the first two Tests for personal reasons.
The threat of IPL bans
Cummins and his fellow Australians were in the sights of new rules that threaten bans for players who drop out of the IPL for any reasons other than injury. Cummins insisted Tests would remain his top priority.
“I’ll work out in the next little bit what this season looks like,” he said. “There’s a bit of a tweak in the rules, but I don’t know whether that would have affected me in the past, I’ve never pulled out after the auction. But it is one more factor to consider with the IPL.
“Test cricket is the absolute No.1 priority, world cups are right up there, and then I think you use them as your tent poles and work out what else makes sense around that.
“The calendar is never going to get any less busy, and I’m not going to get any younger, so these things have always been considerations, and moving forward will become even more so. But needless to say, playing cricket for Australia, particularly Test matches, is my number one job and priority.”
Konstas, Fraser-McGurk, Matt Short: The next generation
Cummins watched alongside selection chair George Bailey as 19-year-old phenom Sam Konstas carved out the first of twin Sheffield Shield centuries for NSW this week, and he has seen a steady influx of youth into the white-ball sides.
Sam Konstas in action for NSW.Credit: Getty Images
He is confident that the likes of Jake Fraser-McGurk and Matt Short can become all-format players for Australia.
“I think back to the start of my career, I was a lot more around the white-ball teams, and part of that is my body, but also you’d get opportunities where a Mitchell Johnson or Ryan Harris were prioritising Test matches and the next generation would come through,” he said. “Now you see Xavier Bartlett, Fraser-McGurk, Matt Short and you think this is good preparation for becoming an all-format player.
“The really good players in any format find a way to score runs, and you see someone like Travis Head, the way he bats in Test matches isn’t a hell of a lot different to T20 cricket. He’s leaning on his strengths. So I hope [Fraser-McGurk can be an all format player].
“What Davey [Warner] showed is you can be super dynamic in T20, but he’s got the flying hours behind him, the tough innings that build up his bank of experience and that’s what red ball does for batters. Especially for young players, playing red-ball cricket is never to the detriment of white-ball cricket.
“If you look at the age profile of our Test team, no doubt if you fast-forward a few years, I’d be surprised if there aren’t a few players moved on, and that presents an opportunity.”
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