Twenty20 WC: Aussies to dig it in short against Indians, says Cummins

Colombo: Australian fast bowler Pat Cummins on Tuesday said the team’s fast bowlers would not hesitate to dig it in short, or indulge in short pitched fast bowling against the Indians when they meet each other in the Twenty20 World Cup encounter on Friday (September 28).

Interacting with media after a practice session here, Cummins, when asked whether the Australians would attempt to jolt the Indian batsmen with their pace, said that a few of the Indian batsmen were not too comfortable or fond of the short ball, so he expected bowlers like left-arm pacer Mitchell Starc to probably ruffle a few feathers in the Indian camp. He said the Australian fast bowlers had Indian batsmen like Suresh Raina, Gautam Gambhir, as well as a few of the other batters in their sites, as they were known to be uncomfortable against short pitched fast bowling. He said the Australians would be seeking to dig it in, hitting the deck hard, and would then see how it plays out during the September 28 encounter. When asked to comment on the Indian spinners match winning performance against England, and how Australia planned to counter them, Cummins said while he was not a good enough batsman to comment really on how the Indian spinners would be tackled, he said the Australians had sat down and discussed the playing conditions in Sri Lanka and the best way to tackle the spinners. He made a specific reference to Shane Watson, David Warner and Michael Hussey, who he said have played brilliantly so far in the tournament, and added that Australia would be looking to them to deliver again on Friday. When asked how the team was doing, and whether there were any injury concerns within the squad, Cummins said the team was very relaxed, having had a couple of days off, and is ready to take on India in their Twenty20 encounter on September 28. Cummins said there were no injury concerns within the squad, and added that the team had had two days off, during which some of them had visited Galle to have a rest, while a few others had chosen to play golf. “And, today, (Tuesday), we had a little bit of fun, for about an hour, we had five little games set up, little contests, which was good fun, had a hit out in the nets. Everyone is going really well, no real injury concerns. Everyone is firing,” Cummins said. On what he thought of the India versus England encounter, and what Australia would be taking out of that game, Cummins said: “Yeah, it’s pretty funny, the other night they probably didn’t go in with their full strength side. So, yeah, I guess you never know what you are going get with them, they have some world class players.” “Lots of experience, at the IPL, I guess that will work in their favour, But also, our guys have had a lot of experience, have seen a lot of them, and only just recently, in the summer back in Australia,” he added. “Yeah, we’ll probably go hard at them, show real good intent. Hopefully our study pays off, and we’ll see how it goes,” Cummins said. Responding to Coach Mickey Arthur’s reported unhappiness with the bowlers not executing strategies as discussed, Cummins acknowledged as much, when he said: “We have gone in with pretty clear plans, but probably didn’t execute them, or stick with them as probably we should have. We are trying to work on that. Yeah, we are just trying to make sure that we go in with a clear mind, a clear plan, make sure that our feathers don’t get ruffled, or that we don’t get too disturbed by all that.” He also said that the Australians were pretty happy with the pitches in use during the Twenty20 World Cup, saying there was something on offer for all – fast bowlers, spinners and batters. “Decks have been pretty quick. The first four overs, we will try and swing the ball, and then hit the deck hard,” Cummins said. He also said that the Australians had come off a good tour of the UAE against Pakistan, so the conditions in Sri Lanka were not taking too long to get used to. ANI