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Pat Cummins, the captain of Australia’s Test team, has chosen to take an eight-week vacation from the game. In order to maybe improve his performance in the impending Border-Gavaskar Trophy, the bowler has taken a calculated break.
With a packed itinerary that encompassed the Ashes, ODI World Cup, multiple Test series, IPL, T20 World Cup, and most recently, the Major League Cricket season in the United States, Cummins has had an extremely demanding year. Because of the strain this relentless cricket calendar has caused, Cricket Australia has taken extra care to control Cummins’ workload.
Cummins’ deliberate choice to take an eight-week break from cricket is a prelude to the much awaited five-Test series against India that begins in late November. He can concentrate on his strength training and conditioning throughout the downtime.
“After a week of working out, my hamstrings and even ankles are rather sore. It’s something that builds up over several months of bowling, but it’s difficult to maintain during the season. You just can’t really put in a lot of rehab activity in the middle of the season, so I’ll be working out a lot at the gym and running,” Cummins said to Fox Cricket.
I haven’t stopped bowling since the WTC championship: The Pat Cummins
The Sydney native intends to spend this time running, working out intensely at the gym, and doing rehabilitation exercises. With this conditioning, he should be less prone to injury and able to bowl longer spells throughout the forthcoming series while still maintaining velocities over 140 km/h.
“You never regret it, everyone who returns after a hiatus and is a little bit more refreshed. Since almost eighteen months ago, during the World Test Championship final, I have essentially been bowling nonstop. This allows my body to recuperate for a solid seven or eight weeks without bowling, after which you resume building for the summer. It should allow you to bowl for a little bit longer, keep up your tempo a little bit easier, and be less prone to injury,” he continued.
Cummins also recognised the importance of Australia’s loss of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy since 2017. The 31-year-old is comfortable facing the formidable Indians in the historic Test series even though he also thought of them as a terrific team.
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It’s the trophy I’ve never taken home before. This is the one award that many members of our organisation still find appealing. They have a lot going for them. We feel like we’re pretty well situated too, but we also play them a lot and know them very well,” Cummins said.
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