AUS vs ENG: Cummins bats for bigger squads in ICC World Cups

With solely 13 gamers at his disposal for the match in opposition to England on the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Saturday, Australia captain Pat Cummins voiced his opinion in favour of a bigger squad for the ICC World Cup.

“It is a two-month tournament. You would not want to be in a position like New Zealand. They have had some injuries, and luckily, they have been able to hold someone like Kane (Williamson) in the squad, but if suddenly you had to rule him out, I think that would not be good for a World Cup. I always think as many players as you need, you should be able to pick from,” Cummins mentioned on the eve of the match.

All-rounders Glenn Maxwell and Mitchell Marsh have been dominated out of the match on Saturday attributable to completely different causes. While Maxwell suffered a concussion following a fall from a golf cart, Marsh flew again dwelling attributable to private causes. New Zealand and Sri Lanka are among the many different groups which have been compelled to alter their 15-member models following accidents.

Cummins, nonetheless, assured that his squad will likely be again to full power.

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“Maxwell, hopefully, [will be back] for the clash against Afghanistan. He trained well yesterday and is still taking it day by day. Mitch [Marsh], we will wait and see – he will return. I do not think it will be a super long trip back home to Perth but the main thing is we’ll give him as much time and space as he needs,” Cummins mentioned.

In its six video games within the match, Australia has fielded 14 gamers with accidents or choice choices, forcing adjustments to the beginning lineup in three video games. Travis Head was out there for choice solely from the sport in opposition to the Netherlands – the facet’s fifth of the competitors.

Though Cummins backed his gamers to fill in any vacancies that arose, he hoped that Maxwell and Marsh’s absence can be the ultimate ‘hiccup’ for his group.

“We have played a lot of ODIs over the last couple of months so it feels like everyone is coming in with lots of game time. We have got plenty of all-rounders so I always feel like there are plenty of options we can go to.

“The good thing is we are still three games away from the semifinals. We need to make the semifinals, but hopefully, this is kind of the last little hiccup where we have got a smaller squad to pick from,” Cummins mentioned.

With eight factors in its bag, Australia must win not less than two video games to advance to the knockout stage, and doing it in opposition to England will likely be particular for Cummins.

“It [a win] helps our chances to get into the semis so that is the overarching feeling of winning this one. It has been an old rivalry so, yeah, it is probably just that little bit sweeter than beating other teams. And the same with the history of how well they have done in white-ball cricket, yeah, it would be a great win,” Cummins mentioned.

Cummins added that his facet has moved on from the ‘spirit of cricket’ controversy surrounding Jonny Bairstow’s run out throughout the Ashes in July 2023. The England batter was run out by Alex Carey after he walked out of the crease pondering the supply was lifeless.

“That was a couple of months ago. It’s done. It’s a new game, a new tournament. But I always think a little bit of healthy rivalry is good, especially [with] our playing group, we’re quite a chilled, calm group. So, sometimes when we get a little bit more fired up, I don’t think it is too bad a thing,” Cummins mentioned.

On England’s string of poor performances, Cummins mentioned, “A little bit surprised. They have some class players who have performed well in these kinds of tournaments over the last few years. [But] They are going to be dangerous tomorrow. You have got to be careful of any team with that kind of calibre of players.”