Aus vs Pak – “Latest Information” – Pat Cummins makes ODI return but has one eye on Australia A

Cummins was speaking at the MCG on Sunday ahead of the first ODI of the summer against Pakistan, which will be his first international appearance since the T20 World Cup in June after missing the tour of the UK in September.

Cummins said he had been keeping an eye on Mackay’s scores and stressed the quartet would likely have another chance to impress in the second four-day match at the MCG starting on Thursday. But he added that Australia A matches are not the be-all and end-all when it comes to selection for the first Test.

“I think it’s like one last bit of information,” Cummins said. “It’s never as sharp as a bat. Some of these guys have only played a few games of Shield cricket, and then you have other guys who have played over a decade.

“In the last few weeks, does it really matter? It has some importance, but it’s not going to drive 100% of the decision. So it’s that last part of the decision.

“In some ways there’s a lot of pressure on these last couple of games, which, whether you like it or not, is probably what you’re going to get in Test cricket anyway. So I guess, again, whoever gets picked, either way, they’ve been under as much pressure as they could be on their Test debut, so that means they’re in a pretty good place.

Cummins was not concerned about having to abandon the decision quite late given Australia’s current selection committee and management group have preferred to give players more certainty in the recent past.

“I don’t think it’s a new problem,” Cummins said. “The good thing is, if you look at the batting role that we’re looking at, whoever was chosen, he’s going to come out with a lot of runs early in the year, you would think, and they The reality is you’re trying to make as comfortable a debut as possible for someone, but no matter who it is, they’re going to feel nervous So, yeah, it’s not like them I’m going to. wake up “

“You could do it,” Cummins said. “Again, maybe once we start talking about who’s in the team, then you’ll start looking at the batting order.

“Ronnie [Andrew McDonald] and I’ve said it many times, we think it’s not that important where you bat. You’re trying to figure out how the batting order as a whole will work best. And I don’t think anyone should be very protective in any one place.”

Meanwhile, Cummins said he felt as physically fresh as he had in a long time after skipping the T20I and ODI tour of the UK in order to undergo a major training block in Sydney to prepare for the summer. He also explained his decision not to play a Shield game before the first Test.

“Whoever I should have bowled here in Melbourne, I probably should have started bowling about two or three weeks earlier,” he said. “So we kind of made the decision to have an extra two weeks to train in the gym and prioritize that. I feel like I’ve been doing it for quite a while now, and so I I feel like the ODIs will give me a good idea and obviously the two weeks leading up to the first Test we will make sure we do a lot of red and middle wickets to try and replicate that.

Cummins said he was unsure if he would play all three ODIs against Pakistan. He has confirmed he will play the first two, but it seems likely he will miss the final match in Perth in order to avoid a flight back across the country, a week before having to make the same trip for the Test. Perth.

If he misses the Perth match it will mean Australia will have to find a captain, with ODI vice-captain Mitchell Marsh missing the series while on paternity leave.

Smith and Josh Hazlewood have both captained the ODI side before, but it is possible that both will also be rested from the trip to Perth for the same reasons as Cummins.