You forget how good our fast bowlers have been in all conditions: Pat Cummins

Australia skipper Pat Cummins has mentioned that people should not dismiss the side’s intimidating pace bowling attack amid talks of turning tracks in India ahead of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. Team India is all set to host Australia for a four-match Test series scheduled to commence on February 9 at the Vidarbha Cricket Stadium in Nagpur.

While there has been a lot of talk surrounding spinners and the turning tracks that the Indian conditions offer, the Aussie skipper made a bold statement ahead of the highly-anticipated series. Cummins expressed that people should not ‘forget’ the lethal pace attack that his side boasts considering how ‘good’ they have been in different conditions. 

“Obviously it's very conditions-dependent, particularly in the first Test. Once we get to Nagpur, we will see. But yeah, I think sometimes talking about a couple of spinners, you forget how good a lot of our fast bowlers have been in all conditions,” told Cummins during his interaction with the media after arriving in India as quoted by ESPNcricinfo.  

"We've got plenty of options here (with) finger spin, wrist spin, left arm (pace) when Starcy (Mitchell Starc) comes back. The good thing is someone like (Ashton) Agar was in our last team, (Mitchell) Swepson played the last two overseas tour, so a bit of experience. (Todd) Murphy played in the last tour. We feel that we got a lot of support in that department for Lyon,” added the Aussie skipper.

We have got plenty of variety in terms of spin to choose from: Pat Cummins

The 29-year-old further added that their red-ball contingent has varied options to choose from including the likes of middle-order batter Travis Head who offers off-spin option.

“We'll obviously pick the bowlers that we think are going to take 20 wickets. But how we split that up, we're not 100 per cent sure yet. Travis Head also bowls really good off-spin. We have to balance things. We have got a plenty of variety there to choose from. We have not locked in any bowling line-up so far,” mentioned Cummins.

It is worth noting that the two fierce rivals are in contention for a place in the finals of the World Test Championship 2021-23 cycle and hence the series plays a crucial role.