Within Cricket Australia, one option being discussed is for Cummins to feature in four of the five Tests. The skipper stressed he would not risk playing if he feared breaking down and argued he no longer needed heavy match workloads to be ready.
“Ideally, you’re playing ODIs and then you’re playing a [Sheffield] Shield game,” Cummins said. “That’s probably what the other boys are doing. That was probably my original plan, but I think we’ll work out a program where I’m ready to play.
“I won’t go into a Test where I feel like I [will] break down or anything like that. I think if you’d asked me 10 years ago, I would have said I really feel like I need to play games. Now it’s centre wickets and net sessions. I’ve bowled a lot more overs. I feel like I can kind of get up to Test level pretty quickly.”
Cummins also said fast bowler rotation across the summer would be critical.
“Most years, at least one of the bowlers normally goes down. Joshy [Hazlewood] missed the back half last year. Obviously conditions change, but I think that you just need that fresh bowler and guys that can come in and bowl 40 overs without really blinking in a Test match.
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“I think that’s super valuable.”
Cummins helped launch the federal government’s new ‘Forever Sport Program’ after lobbying from his Cricket for Climate organisation, which was founded in 2021. The scheme will fund solar panels and other measures to cut bills and emissions at community clubs across all sports.
“For me, sporting clubs were a huge part of my childhood. With this support, it can make a real difference,” Cummins said.
Energy Minister Chris Bowen said: “Pat’s a great advocate. This wouldn’t have happened without Pat’s leadership and Cricket for Climate’s leadership. When we hear a good idea, we’ll grab it. When the captain of the Australian cricket team says ‘we want to be all in to reduce bills and emissions’, we’re on board.”
