Perth [Australia], November 21 : Ahead of his side's first Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy against India, Australian skipper Pat Cummins said that all-rounder Mitchell Marsh is bowling in the match and is in a great physical shape for sending down some spells in order to ease workloads of frontline bowlers.
After securing the ICC World Test Championship, ICC Cricket World Cup in India and several memorable series wins as a captain, Cummins will have another gigantic task in hand as he would be aiming to end Aussies' 10-year series drought against India and prevent a hat-trick of losses to visitors at home. On the other hand, India seeks to bounce back after a rare, but humiliating home setback against New Zealand, losing 0-3 in a whitewash.
Speaking ahead of the series in a pre-match presser, Cummins said, "Yeah, I mean, I have never quite put an upper limit on anyone. He will definitely bowl this test. Well, he is definitely available to bowl. You know, he is an all-rounder. I do not think he is, you know, with the way kind of us four bowlers are set out, we never really budget an all-rounder bowling, you know, heaps."
"So I would imagine, you know, a few spells each innings or something like that, but he is ready to go. He has been bowling really well this week. His body is great. Best it has been for a while. So he has had a really good prep lead-in. He is ready to go and happy to bowl as much as we need," he added.
Speaking about his preparation for the series, which saw him play some white-ball cricket for Australia and New South Wales (NSW) recently after a break, Cummins said, "I feel great. You know, I could not have asked for a better leading. So hopefully it translates into a good summer, but yeah, I have been really lucky to have, you know, four or five months off to build up, get strong, played some white-ball cricket for New South Wales and Australia. And yeah, it is no real hiccup. So I feel, you know, I was strong and as fresh and as fit as I have for a long time."
Talking about the pitch, Cummins said that it has a "even coverage of grass".
"Yeah, it always looks really good here. So not too sure what to make of it. Been a bit more rain about than they perhaps thought. So it has kind of been on and off covers, but the sun's out there now baking it. So yeah, see how we go tomorrow, but it looks pretty good," he added.
The Aussie skipper does not think that the Indian Premier League (IPL) auction taking place from November 24-25 during the match would be a distraction for players, even though their bowling coach Daniel Vettori left early to be a part of the auction commitments with Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH), a franchise he is involved with.
"No, I think firstly on the auction, look, I do not think so. You know, Dan's obviously flown over there, but he is been here for the whole prep. We have done all our meetings, done all the chats, and obviously he will be watching and be keeping an eye on it. Anyway, so for the players, I do not think so. Most of the guys have been in auctions before. The reality is you cannot really do anything. You are sitting back and seeing if you get selected or not. Doesn't, I think how you go in the next two days does not make any difference. So it is not a distraction as far as I can see it," added the skipper.
Cummins also said that the fans could witness Aussie's number three batter Marnus Labuschagne throw down some bouncers during the match, noting how he is always trying to impress the team with his bowling.
"He has bowled some handovers for Queensland, obviously got leg spin, bowled a bit of off-spin in the past, and then this year it has been non-to-pace bowling. So yeah, I am sure he will get the ball at some stage, and he has been bowling quite a few bouncers as well. So that's maybe something we will turn to at some point as well," said Cummins.
The skipper said that he does not feel pressured to win the BGT series as a captain, rather, the pressure is of performing well at home consistently like the team has done over the years, barring two series losses to India.
After the series opener in Perth on November 22, the second Test, featuring the day-night format, will take place under lights at Adelaide Oval from December 6 to 10.
Fans will then turn their attention to The Gabba in Brisbane for the third Test from December 14 to 18. The traditional Boxing Day Test, scheduled from December 26 to 30 at Melbourne's iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground, will mark the series' penultimate stage.
The fifth and final Test will be held at the Sydney Cricket Ground from January 3 to 7, promising an exciting climax to a highly anticipated series.
India's squad for Border-Gavaskar Series: Rohit Sharma (c), Jasprit Bumrah (vc), Ravichandran Ashwin, Mohammad Shami, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Shubman Gill, Ravindra Jadeja, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Dhruv Jurel (wk), Sarfaraz Khan, Virat Kohli, Prasidh Krishna, Rishabh Pant (wk), KL Rahul, Harshit Rana, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Mohammed Siraj, Washington Sundar.
Australia squad for the first Test: Pat Cummins (c), Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Mitch Marsh, Nathan McSweeney, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc.