“I feel like I’m in a really good place and I feel like I’ve played a lot of cricket”

Image courtesy of: Zimbio

With his injury woes seemingly a thing of the past, Australia seamer Pat Cummins is determined to make his presence felt at the Champions Trophy, which starts on Thursday.

Cummins returned to limited overs cricket in December 2016 and even featured in two Test matches since making his debut in 2011 when he was called up as Mitchell Starc’s replacement for the third and fourth Test against India in March.

Following his comeback to the longest format, Cummins stayed in India as he represented the Delhi Daredevils in the Indian Premier League (IPL), where he took 15 wickets in 12 games at an average of 24.86.

Given how he has been performing as of late, the 24-year-old is hoping to maintain that momentum going into Australia’s Champions Trophy opener against New Zealand at Edgbaston on Friday.

“I’ve been playing games for about eight or nine months flat out without really missing a game or being rested,” he said. “I feel like I’m in a really good place and I feel like I’ve played a lot of cricket. It’s been a bit of a dream run which is always what you hope for. So I’m feeling really good.”

With Cummins having spent a lot of time in India the past couple of months, he admitted that he is glad to have a change in environment and conditions as well.

“I’ve been bowling on Indian wickets for the last three months so it’s nice to have a bit of a change,” he said. “The Oval was a pretty good wicket. It was dry, there wasn’t much swing or nip that you sometimes expect over here.

“I love it. It can be unforgiving but I feel like if you bowl well, you’re always in the game. The two biggest weapons over here are pace, and we’re lucky we’ve got three of four guys in the squad who can bowl quickly, and accuracy is just so important.”