'Better to be slightly underdone than overdone' - Pat Cummins opens upon lack of game time ahead of WTC final

The second cycle of the ICC World Test Championship will culminate with the epic showdown between India and Australia, with the final kicking off on June 7 at the Oval in London. India qualified for the final with 58.8 percentage points after defeating the Aussies 2-1 in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy series at home, while Australia secured the top spot on the points table for the 2021-23 cycle with 66.67 percentage points in 19 Test matches.

Meanwhile, Australia captain Pat Cummins has justified the decision to forego warm-up matches before the World Test Championship final and the Ashes, stressing on the demanding nature of the schedule. Since their tour to Pakistan a year ago, Australians have adopted a no-tour-match policy. This tactic is set to be maintained for their crucial trip to England, which includes a WTC final against India at The Oval from June 7–11 followed by five Ashes Tests in June-July.

The skipper strongly denied the claims that the majority of the Australian team would be rusty having played barely any cricket since the India series. 

"Breaks are rare to come by. I have always said, with six Test matches (including five in the Ashes), it is better to be slightly underdone than overdone. I am talking from a bower's point of view. So I want to be physically fresh. Back home, we did lot of training. We have trained hard, rejuvenated and refreshed and are keen," Pat Cummins told on ICC.

You need to know your moments to push for wicket: Pat Cummins

Cummins assessed the playing surface as durable with a lot of bounce and claimed his team possesses sufficient bowlers to make the most of the conditions. 

"You need to know your moments to push for wickets. We need to get 20 wickets and there is no point trying everything in the first innings. We have plenty of bowlers to be used at different times. Our playing group hasn't played too many of those 50 Tests. We have played few Ashes games, most of us. Few guys have scored runs and bowlers have had some pace and bounce. So it should be good," Australian skipper further said.