New Delhi:
The mighty Australians will clash with New Zealand on Friday in Champions Trophy at Edgbaston, Birmigham.
Australia is expected to release 'fearsome foursome' of Josh Hazlewood, Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc and James Pattinson against New Zealand.
Injuries have meant the quartet of fast bowlers have rarely all been fit at the same time and, even now, Australia may decide it’s too much of a risk fielding all four in the same team, with John Hastings—who has plenty of English county experience—also in the squad.
For Cummins, whose career has been blighted by several back stress fractures, just being in contention again is something of a relief.
The 24-year-old made his international debut in 2011, yet the fact he’s played just three Tests and 28 one-day internationals since then is testament to how much time Cummins has spent on the treatment table.
But he now believes his body can withstand the rigours of international cricket.
“I now feel that because I’m a couple of years older, and because I had a full off-season at pretty low intensity, my body was a bit more hardened than it used to be when I did come back,” Cummins explained.
Left-arm fast bowler Starc, arguably the world’s leading ‘yorker’ bowler, has recovered from a foot injury that cut short his tour of India, while Pattinson has returned from shin and back problems.
This time around, the Blackcaps are heading to England ranked 4th in the MRF Tyres ODI rankings with a squad that has the batting power and the bowling variations to prevail in a potentially high-scoring tournament.
The live broadcast of the Australia vs New Zealand Champions Trophy 2017 match will start at 9.30 am GMT (3 pm IST).
