Stoinis is still touch and go; will take a call on his participation after how he goes today, says Cummins

Chennai, Oct 7 (IANS) Australia captain Pat Cummins said fast-bowling all-rounder Marcus Stoinis is “still touch and go” for playing in their first match of 2023 Men’s ODI World Cup against India on Sunday, adding that a call on his participation will be taken after how he fares in Saturday’s practice session.

Stoinis has not played a competitive match since the ODI series opener against India at Mohali last month due to a hamstring niggle. “We will announce our team tomorrow at the toss. Stoinis is still touch and go; he will have a run this afternoon. Probably he’s up against it; he's got to jump through a few hoops and we'll see how he does today and take a call,” said Cummins in the pre-match press conference.

If Stoinis is unavailable for Sunday’s game, Australia still have strong fast-bowling all-rounders like Cameron Green and big-hitting Mitchell Marsh to bank upon, which Cummins says is a blessing for the five-time World Cup winners.

“It's a luxury as in one day cricket more than any other formats you need all-rounders - you've got to try and find 50 overs. So, we feel really blessed to have people like Cameron Green, Mitchell Marsh, Glenn Maxwell and Marcus Stoinis in the side. They're like gold; it means you can bat deeper so we feel in a really good place.”

Maxwell will have to shoulder a huge chunk of responsibilities as an off-spin all-rounder in Australia’s campaign, especially in the absence of left-arm spinner Ashton Agar. Maxwell had taken a career-best spell of 4-40 against India at Rajkot and bowled eight overs in the warm-up game against Pakistan, apart from hitting 77 with the bat.  

Cummins opined the think-tank sees Maxwell as a main spinner alongside leg-spinner Adam Zampa and added that the all-rounder is working on a few areas with his bowling. “It's good that we've got plenty of bowling, but we've seen Maxwell, he's a front-line spin bowler. In the 2015 World Cup, he was the sole spinner in basically every single match I think other than one so really happy with how he's going. I thought he bowled really well in that third ODI against India. So, we've got 20 overs of spin out there if we need it.”

“He’s always working on some things, even if it’s not variations. Its different fields, different ways you bowl - and with age and experience as well, you just get a bit more clever and you need that as a spin bowler. So, he's got an amazing knack of if he misses out with the bat, he contributes with the ball and vice versa. He's always in the game and no doubt expecting a big tournament from Maxwell.”  

Sunday’s game at the MA Chidambaram Stadium will see Australia starting their quest for a sixth men's ODI World Cup trophy after winning it last time in 2015. “Every game is super important in World Cup, you can't take it easy in any of them and what a better way to start than India, in the home conditions you'd imagine, they're probably tournament favourites.”

“So, if we win tomorrow that's awesome, if not, well, we know where we stand and maybe we need to change a few things but or you know double down on what we do well. But it's exciting so it should be a cracker,” stated Cummins.

The prospect of playing his first World Cup as an Australian captain is something which excites Cummins. “It's really cool, first of all. The most exciting thing about a World Cup is it is a campaign. It does feel like you're there with 14 other guys and you're on a journey to try and make the next couple of months as special as it can be. So, I love that.”

“There's no forward planning and trying to manage different formats now. We're here for a World Cup and everyone's fully focused on that. So, I've really enjoyed that and the boys have been awesome so far and it's my third World Cup and first one is captain, they're all really special.”

The MA Chidambaram Stadium has been a happy hunting ground for Australia, getting wins five times from their six matches played at the venue. The visitors also won the recent ODI against India at this venue in March when Zampa picked 4-45 and led Australia to winning series decider by 21 runs.

Cummins is banking on previous knowledge of playing white-ball cricket in India, but expects the Chennai crowd to be firmly supporting the Indian team. “It's no doubt helpful playing a lot here, not only for Australia but IPL. I've probably played more white ball cricket in India than I have in Australia over the last 10 years, so it's conditions we know really well.”

“The positive thing is that we've played some really good one-day cricket against India over here in the last few years. So we can draw back on that and that can be in front of mind. In terms of a World Cup record, we probably can't take too much credit for the World Cup wins in 1980s and 90s and early 2000s, but we're really happy with how we've played over here lately.”

“The home crowd's going to be noisy and very one-sided, which is nothing new, and it's great. Also, they've played a lot of cricket in these conditions, so it's always tough playing against someone on their home grounds, but with that also comes pressure. There's a billion fans that are going to be watching closely, cheering them on.”