Pat Cummins is talking about a frankly hectic 12 months. From August this year to August next year Australia could squeeze in as many as 21 Test matches – the most the men’s side has ever faced in a single stretch. The captain, fresh from the IPL and, crucially, from a clean medical scan, would like to turn out in all of them, though even he admits that sounds a bit ambitious.
Key fixtures first. Bangladesh arrive for two Tests to open the home campaign. By the time the cycle ends, Cummins’ side should have toured South Africa, taken on India away, hosted New Zealand, celebrated the 150th anniversary Test at the MCG, tried to keep hold of the Ashes in England and, if rankings allow, appeared in another World Test Championship final at Lord’s. It is, to use Cummins’ own understated description, “kind of unprecedented.”
“Body feels awesome,” he said during an Amazon Prime media event ahead of the women’s T20 World Cup. “I got a scan, all sweet, so now it’s the next step up, which is getting ready to bowl 20 overs in a day and wake up and do it again in a Test match.”
That step-up starts this month. Bowling loads will rise through June and July; the idea is to arrive at the Bangladesh series able to get through a full day in the field without worrying about the back problem that ended his last Ashes early. “The lucky thing is I haven’t played much in the last year or so, so I’m actually coming in physically as good as I possibly could be,” he said.
Rotation a real possibility
Australia’s “big three” quicks – Cummins, Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood – have long planned on covering all home Tests. Twenty-one Tests on three continents is another story. “I’m kind of hoping that I play all of them, but I’m sure things will pop up along the way,” Cummins admitted. “It’d be very surprising if the same three bowlers played in 21 of the Tests … there might be a little bit of chopping and changing.”
That is why the selectors have been busy building bench strength. Scott Boland, Michael Neser, Jhye Richardson and Brendan Doggett stepped in during the 4-1 Ashes win last summer when Hazlewood and Cummins himself were out. All four remain on standby.
White-ball cricket parked for now
Cummins is Australia’s ODI captain as well, yet the next twelve months are so Test-heavy that limited-overs appearances will be rationed. “It’s prioritising the Test matches and then outside of that, there won’t be too much,” he said. “There’s some white-ball cricket but I think some of that might be how you pull up from the Test matches.” A dash through the Big Bash, always a crowd-pleaser, now looks remote.
Hazlewood’s comeback watched closely
Hazlewood missed the entire Ashes with hamstring and Achilles issues but bowled the final for Royal Challengers Bengaluru in last month’s IPL, a useful sign for the national set-up. Cummins, who knows better than most how tricky a fast bowler’s body can be, was encouraged. “Bowling seems a funny one, you can get on a bit of a roll and play a lot,” he said. “The hardest thing for someone like Josh is actually getting up and going again. He’s had a few little niggles as he’s been building back up, so it’s been great to see him play a lot of cricket.”
What does 21 Tests look like?
Put simply, it is almost non-stop: roughly one Test every 17 days, with travel tucked in between. Workloads will be managed, recovery windows shortened and fringe bowlers kept warm. Cricket Australia sports-science staff will earn their keep monitoring overs, landing impact and fatigue. Yet Cummins remains upbeat. He has rested, rehabilitated and – still only 33 when the Bangladesh series begins – is confident that experience can make up for any rust.
If the captain does play the lot, he would finish the cycle having logged something near 800 overs. That would rival the busiest years of previous generations, albeit with better sports medicine and more recovery tools. For Cummins, though, the calculation is simple: Test cricket sits at the top of the pyramid, the next year is unique, and he would like to be part of every minute of it.
There is room for pragmatism. Conditions in South Africa may suit a lively back-up quick, and a five-Test Ashes in England traditionally brings rotation. But the captain’s stated aim is clear. “I’m kind of hoping that I play all of them,” he repeated, without fanfare. The schedule might be unprecedented; the ambition, for a fast bowler who has lost enough time to injury already, feels entirely natural.
