They lost four Ashes series in England and during the last visit in 2019, the result was a 2-2 draw. Aussie skipper Cummins is well aware that an Ashes win in England is something that has been missing from their kitty for a long time.
Australia would have hopes this time, having recently beaten India in the World Test Championship (WTC) final at the Kennington Oval in London. Speaking ahead of the Ashes, which kicks off on Friday, June 16, Cummins admitted, “After the other day there was a bit of talk that we’d ticked off the World Test Championship, the T20 World Cup, a one-day World Cup, but we still don’t feel like we’ve ticked off an away Ashes series. It’s the aim for our group this time.”
Asked about the playing XI, he admitted that fast bowler Josh Hazlewood is fit to take part in the match in Birmingham. Cummins, however, refrained from announcing the playing XI. He said, “We do have a team but we will announce it tomorrow, mainly because we haven’t got around to telling all our squad. The big news from last week is Josh Hazelwood is now available.”
The pacer also threw this weight behind veteran opener David Warner, who has been struggling for runs and also has a poor Test record in England. He commented, “It didn’t go Davey’s way last time, but we’ll see a different Davey this time.”
Meanwhile, former Australia captain Ricky Ponting believes that England’s bowlers will struggle if they prepare flat pitches for Ashes 2023. According to Ponting, England will find it difficult to take 20 wickets in flat tracks. The Aussie legend told The Times, "If England want to play the style that they've been playing, I actually think they probably need to have some flattish-type wickets.
“I've heard that they want flat wickets, I've heard they want the boundaries brought in. But I think if they do have these flatter wickets, I'd be worried about how they're going to get 20 Australian wickets a game,” he added.
--By A Cricket Correspondent
