Pat Cummins (Australia) Pre-Match Media Conference | AUS v IND | WTC23 Final

[Reporter:]
So looking at the condition the two days yesterday you practice today you'll practice. It's pretty cloudy so must be really eager to bowl in these conditions because the conditions are really conducive for swing bowling and everything?

[Pat Cummins:]
Yeah, can be. I haven't had a look at the wicket yet today, I'll go out there now. But yeah the weather's been pretty nice all this week and it looks pretty good this week so a bit of a cloudy morning today but anytime there's a bit of grass on the wicket at Duke's Ball with some overheads pretty fun for the quick bowlers So we're looking forward to a good week.

[Reporter:]
Pat, we keep hearing a lot about, you know, the parlous condition of Test cricket. And this is a concept that's reasonably new. Do you think it can work? And do you think that test cricket is in trouble? Is it in as good a place as when you entered it 10 years ago, whenever that was?

[Pat Cummins:]
I think, well I hope this week shows that it does work. I think every day is a sellout. I just had a meeting there where they said it's probably going to be the most watched Test match ever played. So hopefully this event is a real event that's here to stay. We've certainly spoken about it over the last couple of years and yeah in terms of its place in the wider cricketing scope, yeah there's lots of content out there nowadays and probably more competition than there has been before. I know in Australia, we're fortunate, you turn up to the Test matches there at a home summer, everyone's still - the crowds are packed, millions of people watching on TV, so I hope so. You know, every Test player that I've come up against talks about their love of the game, so, I hope so, but obviously times are changing also.

[Reporter:]
Do you sense any change among the younger generation coming through?

[Pat Cummins:]
Yeah. Kind of hard to know in the, I guess I've been around over 10 years, I wouldn't say too big a change maybe more kind of fringe players you know guys that might have only played domestic cricket for six months of the year now are looking to build out a 12 month calendar.
Yeah I'd say that's the main change of thing.

[Reporter:]
You guys have arrived early in the UK preparing for this particular match and the Ashes - some of your boys have been playing county cricket as well. Whereas the Indian team, they arrived late, their boys were busy in the IPL, some of the boys are fresh from the IPL. So do you think the acclimatization you guys have, how big an advantage it will be going into this test match?

[Pat Cummins:]
Yeah, I probably wouldn't fully agree with that. I think the Indian squad probably had more players over here before we did. But yeah, it's against the challenges of having really busy schedules. You've got to change between different formats all the time. So it's nothing new. We've been really happy with our prep. We've been here about 10 days now, had some really good training. So yeah, there's guys that have been playing quite a bit over here and other guys who have come in fresh, but we all feel ready.

[Reporter:]
Pat, will the next two months over here, this final, and then the Ashes go a long way to defining how this group of Australian Test players is remembered?

[Pat Cummins:]
Yeah, probably. Yeah, whether we like it or not, these big series of where you look back at the areas of cricket teams and kind of judge a lot of their performances so yeah that's exciting opportunity for us. We've spoken a lot about having a settled squad, settled team and yeah I'm no doubt this will be the last Ashes away tour for a few of the guys, so yeah it's all - it's exciting.

[Reporter:]
Pat, Scott Boland will come in tomorrow just how much of a threat do you think he can be this week and over the course of the next eight weeks, especially considering how he started his test career in the Ashes?

[Pat Cummins:]
Hopefully huge. These conditions just seem to suit him, you'd think. He hasn't played a lot over here, but a seam bowler who will be rewarded for just bowling in the good areas over and over again. That's what he brings to the team. He's been fantastic. Even in India, he played the first Test match there on a pretty docile wicket and still did a fantastic job. He's a seasoned pro. If there's any assistance in the wicket as well, he just goes to that next level.

[Reporter:]
Does this count as a unique test match considering you guys are these days so used to going to a venue and you have all these numbers that you can look at - not just with the opposition but just what happens that ground. No test matches ever been played here in June so you go in there and kind of take a gut feel on all things?

[Pat Cummins:]
Yeah that's right yeah looking at spin bowling figures in Delhi don't have a lot of relevance to you know playing out here even two months later. So yeah, it feels like there's a few more unknowns. It's a bit like playing a white ball World Cup game in a neutral venue, which is good. It's exciting. I think going out there, you've got to go a bit more on instinct and problem solve on the fly, which is enjoyable.

[Reporter:]
Pat, do you think that maybe this might be the kind of thing that if you win, that the significance of it isn't realized for say 5 or 10 years if this format, the Test Championship Final actually grows and is still a thing in ten years’ time if you know what I'm saying?

[Pat Cummins:]
Potentially, yeah I think missing the first one, this second one feels like it's a bit more significant. Again I think it's the only trophy that Australian cricket hasn't won. All those things, yeah, at the time, feel special, but maybe in 10 years' time when you look back at career achievements, these are the ones that stand out.

[Reporter:]
Obviously you guys have, a number of you guys have won World Cups, One Day World Cup, T20 World Cup. A bit of talk around the fact that India haven't been able to win a global tournament for 12 years now or something like that. Do you think that makes a difference, like the experience of winning big games and finals?

[Pat Cummins:]
I hope so. You know, one thing about playing lots of cricket is you get experience in pressure moments and finals, you know, there's no higher pressure situation. So again, that's one of the benefits of having an experienced side. We've seen it all before. We've been in these moments and, have taken the confidence to know that no matter what happens, you're going to be okay on the other side of it and just take the game on, enjoy it and yeah, I think that's what you'll see from our group this week.

[Reporter:]
India-Australia rivalry is now at par with the Ashes and in the last few years in the Border-Gavaskar trophy - India has dominated. This is the first time these two teams are playing a test in a neutral venue. So how do you see your chances against India?

[Pat Cummins:]
Yeah, hopefully pretty good. Yeah, we obviously haven't played India back home for a couple of years. So the side's a little bit different. But they've been fantastic when they've traveled out to Australia a couple times and You know the conditions of last couple of months ago in India is vastly different to here. So yeah, there are a few unknowns coming up against them here in a kind of one-off game, but we feel really confident. We love playing in England. We know these guys really well, so we're going in really confident.

[Reporter:]
Your team, your XI will have five left-handers and Ashwin has done really well against your team off late. So there has been some talk that both Ashwin and Jadeja might play, might not play. So they did well against you in India. How are you looking forward to this combo challenge?

[Pat Cummins:]
Yeah, it's always a challenge coming up against world-class spinners. I dare say, the wicket might not play like it did in Delhi or some of those places for the spinners but they're crafty, they've got pretty good records wherever they play in the world so they're always going to be a challenge.

[Reporter:]
Do you see this match as a sort of event in itself. I mean it's been your only game before the Ashes and some people have called it like a warm up for the Ashes - but how do you actually see the status of this game?

[Pat Cummins:]
Yeah absolutely an event. It feels like it's kind of the bookend to the last two years campaign. I think we've played great cricket over that kind of campaign. But after this Test match it kind of means nothing and we start again for, you know, starting off with a series that doesn't get much bigger than an Ashes away series. So yeah it does feel like a final, does feel like we've got nothing to lose. There'll be a winner after this game and then you kind of move on and start afresh.

[Reporter:]
Are you going to compete at nine again and Starky at 8, is that still the plan?

[Pat Cummins:]
Yep.

[Reporter:]
What's the rationale there?

[Pat Cummins:]
We're pretty flexible, we might change, drop and change a bit, just depending on gut feel really. We're both happy about eight or nine, we're not very stressed but he's been really good at that number. As captain he gives me a little bit more of a breather at times as well. So we'll stay flexible but at this stage he'll bat at eight.

[Reporter:]
With the Ashes coming up and the way England have been batting, have you found yourself thinking differently about how you might bowl? Lengths or anything like that?

[Pat Cummins:]
Not overly. I think field placements might have to change a little bit. The traditional keeping the field up in test cricket - I think it's evolved over the years and you know when a side is looking to score at a higher tempo, you've just got to change a couple of things but I think our best areas where we run bowls going to be our best chance at taking wickets. So I don't think you'll see too much in the way we bowl but some thoughts around utilizing different balls maybe a bit differently or different field placements, that might change. And yeah, we'll just have to stay nimble.

[Reporter:]
On a similar note, Pat, does the way England have gone about their business make you think that it's more likely you could play six tests in seven, seven and a half weeks, given quick game's a good game for them. They don't muck around, they haven't batted for much longer than 80 overs that regularly does that kind of play into your thinking around bowling workloads and how many games you and your other quicks might be able to play?

[Pat Cummins:]
Not really you know ideally our batters are batting for three days in. I think the way it's set up is pretty good. You play two test matches, big week off, two test matches, big week off. So we'll see. That's the plan. Plan's change, but I feel as fresh as I have for years and yeah ready to give six test matches a crack.

[Reporter:]
We're excited to see Cameron Green. Could he be your trump card this summer and is he the new Keith Miller?

[Pat Cummins:]
He's fantastic Greeny. You know last test match he played he scored his first 100. He took a few test matches before that, he just keeps growing and growing. Just a real luxury to have as a captain in the side as well. A fifth bowling option to bowl as many overs as we need really, can take wickets. So yeah, you're right, you know, you've seen Ben Stokes, what he's done with England over the years, having that key all-rounder who's in your top six can make a big difference at times. So we're backing him in, he's still young but with each game he seems to be growing.

[Reporter:]
I know you said you hadn't seen the pitch today but as a quick you'd be hoping there'd be a bit of green in the pitch so you could do some damage early on?

[Pat Cummins:]
Hopefully, yeah that'd be the plan. I think the weather looks pretty good so yeah as much as kind of what's down on the ground the old adage of looking up before you look down I think is pretty true over here. It's been some sunny days so even if it's got a bit tinge of green on the wicket there are still runs to be scored out there even in county cricket I think there's been some decent scores here all season, so yeah we'll wait and see. Oval's always got a bit of pace and bounce so - hopefully there's something in it for us quicks

[Reporter:]
Do you think how tough will it be for India to fill Rishabh's shoes?

[Pat Cummins:]
Hard to say, you know, he hasn't been in their test team for probably six to twelve months. They've got a few different options.

[Reporter:]
Both teams haven't played any practice games before the Test match, do you think that helps and how do you cope up with that?

[Pat Cummins:]
You know we've been really happy with our prep in terms of center wicket practice. I think we've all played kind of warm-up games before that have been awesome and we've also played warm-up games before that the quality might have been sub-par or certain players don't get as much out of it as others. So to have that kind of individual tailored prep we've been really happy. We feel like we're ready to go.

[Reporter:]
Dave Warner, what does he need to do in this test to guarantee he starts in the Ashes?

[Pat Cummins:]
I think when Davey's at his best he's an aggressive, scary proposition to the opposition. So that's what we'd love to see, how does Davey go out there, take the game on, put the pressure back onto the opposition. I think if he does that he's going to score runs even if it's not this game it's going to be you know the next game or the next game so - yeah I'd love Dave to just to take the game on, play his role that he has for 100 test matches