ADELAIDE: Australia’s new captain, Pat Cummins, acknowledged on Wednesday that they have a point to make following their failure at the Twenty20 World Cup and that they are aiming for champions England in this week’s One-day International series.
Australia entered the World Cup as the defending champions, but they were eliminated in the group stage, unlike Jos Buttler’s team, who advanced to the finals with a thrilling victory over Pakistan on Sunday.
Yes, Cummins said, “I believe you always have a thing to prove, especially playing here in Australia.” Cummins will take over as captain of the one-day side on Thursday after Aaron Finch announced his retirement from the 50-over format.
We probably expect to win every series we play because we want to.
Since the majority of this team was a member of the T20 team, even if the format is different, “we probably didn’t play as well as we know we can, and this provides us an opportunity right immediately to compete against the best,” the captain of the team said.
They play England in three one-day matches; the first being in Adelaide, followed by matches in Sydney on Saturday and Melbourne three days later, where England defeated Pakistan by five wickets.
With the victory, Buttler’s squad became the first to hold both the T20 and 50-over world championships for white-ball competition.
They may be a little sleep deprived, but they are a classy team, according to Cummins, who has recovered from gastro and will be able to play. They are in a good mood. They undoubtedly had a successful T20 season and will be powerful.
With the exception of Glenn Maxwell, who shattered his leg in a bizarre accident at a birthday celebration over the weekend, Australia enters the series with a nearly complete roster.
In place of Finch, Travis Head has been brought up to open with David Warner.
With over 600 runs from 15 innings as an ODI opener, including a century in Pakistan in March, Head has a great track record. However, he hasn’t yet amassed a sizable profit this summer.
In fact, I think I’ve trained very, really well over the past several months, Head added.
The beauty of it is that I know it’s coming soon even if it hasn’t yet affected the games.
Eight players of England’s T20 World Cup winning team, including Sam Curran and player of the tournament Jos Buttler, are still in Australia for the one-day series as they begin a year-long preparation to defend their 50-over championship in India.
They also have players like Sam Billings, Jason Roy, and James Vince who play frequently in the Big Bash League in Australia and are accustomed with the regional conditions. Ben Stokes, who led England to victory in the T20 World Cup final, will not participate, having just announced the end of his ODI career.
The wicket-keeper/batsman Billings said, “For myself, and for the other players who haven’t been around the group in a month or so, it’s a tremendous opportunity to stake a claim and come back into more prominent roles in that side.
“We are aware that Australia will be a fantastic team; their depth at home speaks for itself.
After only a short period of recovery following their T20 World Cup victory, England captain Buttler warned that his squad would find it difficult to get motivated for the ODI series.
It will be difficult, Buttler told reporters. Saying all the correct things won’t help us perform at our best.
At the end of a protracted tour to Australia, England’s domination does not ensure a thirst for more cricket. Moeen Ali, an all-around player, called it “terrible” to play another game so soon after Sunday’s championship.
