Australia's Pat Cummins on their clash with fierce rivals New Zealand at the ICC Cricket World Cup
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00:00 Pat, so much of history in Australia and New Zealand
00:02 contests.
00:03 This is a World Cup game that everybody
00:05 has been looking forward to for a long time.
00:08 Your thoughts just on the history of the games
00:10 and your perspective ahead of tomorrow's encounter?
00:14 Yeah, it's-- I mean, any sport, even, you know,
00:17 Blader's League Cups, there's always big events.
00:20 I guess in my career, you know, 2015, obviously
00:24 had an awesome match against Eden-- at Eden Park,
00:30 and then the final.
00:30 And then, you know, we had a T20 World Cup final
00:35 a couple of years ago.
00:36 So it always seems like there's great contests.
00:38 And on a personal note as well, you know,
00:41 we know a lot of the New Zealand guys
00:43 who played a lot against them and with them.
00:45 So it's always good fun.
00:46 Pat, is Travis Head available for the game,
00:52 and Marcus Stornis for that matter?
00:55 Don't know, to be honest.
00:57 Yeah, they'll have a training session after this.
01:00 Trav had a-- well, they both trained on game day
01:03 a couple of days ago.
01:04 So yeah, we'll see in the next few hours.
01:06 And just I'm not sure if you followed
01:08 in the news in Australia over the last day or two,
01:10 but Greg Chappell's fallen on some hard times
01:12 and has had a bit of a testimonial.
01:16 I know he played a bit of a role in your career.
01:18 Have you followed that at all?
01:20 What are your thoughts about that?
01:22 I haven't really.
01:23 I heard one of the boys talking about it the other day.
01:26 But yeah, he's a legend of the game.
01:28 He's-- not only just as a player, he's been huge.
01:32 Yeah, particularly our playing group.
01:33 He's had a big influence on a lot of us coming through.
01:36 He's-- yeah, did under-19s tour where he was there
01:39 and kind of mentoring and spent a lot of time up at the NCC
01:45 where he was involved.
01:46 So yeah, got huge admiration for him.
01:51 Obviously, huge figure in Australian cricket.
01:53 So yeah, wish him all the best.
01:55 Pat, it's obviously a lovely ground,
02:00 except maybe when you've got to bend down and field on it.
02:03 Do you have any concerns at all about the outfield
02:05 and how will the team approach preparing for that?
02:09 Yeah, I mean, just walked across there now,
02:11 so that was the first look at it.
02:12 So yeah, that's probably a ground
02:15 we've got to be extra careful.
02:17 It's a bit different to a lot of the other venues
02:19 that we play at.
02:20 But it's fine.
02:21 It's the same for both teams.
02:23 So yeah, maybe just be a little bit more careful
02:25 out in the field.
02:25 And you might have to wear a cup on the body, but that's fine.
02:30 Pat, just 11 days ago, you guys were
02:32 at the bottom of the table.
02:33 But I guess that's just the nature of these tournaments.
02:35 You're not in the semifinals, but sort of in there,
02:38 let's face it.
02:39 So just--
02:40 I'll take it, yeah.
02:41 Thanks.
02:42 If I said, you know.
02:44 So just the-- everybody speaks about vibe and all of that.
02:48 But just the nature of your last two victories,
02:51 regardless of who you're playing against,
02:54 does that add to that feeling of now we've finally
02:57 arrived in this tournament in that sense?
03:00 Yeah, for sure.
03:02 Our group's big on talking about the style that we want to play.
03:05 And I think in the first two games,
03:06 not only did we not win, but I think
03:10 we didn't really nail the style that we wanted to play.
03:14 I think in the last few games, you've
03:15 seen us be a bit more aggressive, batting and bowling.
03:20 Bowling, everyone's been really open-minded,
03:23 tried different things, trying bounces, different fields,
03:26 won over spells.
03:29 And it's just been a real buy-in from the whole team.
03:31 And yeah, it's been fantastic the last few games.
03:34 So it's kind of-- that's a standard
03:36 we want to keep going for the rest of the tournament.
03:39 And with your own bowling, Pat, you
03:40 said earlier in the tournament that in a one-day cricket,
03:42 you haven't played a lot of it regularly
03:44 in the last few years, but getting a feel for it
03:47 with every game you play.
03:49 Just the four or five overs you bowl against Netherlands,
03:51 just the carry you were getting, I know it's dependent
03:54 on the surface as well, does that
03:56 put you in a better place of mind in that sense?
03:59 And just in terms of economy rates,
04:02 there's something you asked about you guys
04:04 during the Ashes, different circumstances.
04:06 But have you reached a point where you don't really
04:09 pay much heed to it, and it's what
04:10 you're doing with the ball?
04:12 Yeah, I've been really happy with how I've been bowling.
04:16 I feel like I've probably been bowling
04:18 the best I have for a little while in ODI cricket.
04:22 And in terms of, yeah, economy rates,
04:25 we're really role-specific.
04:27 So Joshie Hazel is going to look different to me,
04:29 or to Starkey, to Adam Zampa.
04:33 It's just about having your role and trying to own that.
04:36 So for example, we could try and be really safe
04:42 through the middle, but we're not
04:43 going to take wickets where they're probably going
04:44 to score runs at the back end.
04:45 So we're always all about wickets
04:49 at the start and the middle, and happy to give up a few runs
04:52 in search of that.
04:54 Hey, Pat, you've played a lot of cricket with Mitchell Stark,
04:57 and he's on an incredible streak at the minute.
04:59 He's taken a wicket in every World Cup match he's played,
05:02 which is a record.
05:03 What do you think makes him so successful or so
05:06 effective in World Cup matches?
05:09 I think in 50-over cricket, there's
05:14 the new ball, the middle phase, and the last phase.
05:16 And it's pretty hard to nail all three,
05:18 but I think he's one of the rare bowlers that swings it up front.
05:22 But you can basically give him the ball at any time,
05:24 and you feel like he's going to create something.
05:27 And again, I think he just keeps getting better and better.
05:30 He's wobbling the ball across right-handers.
05:33 He's bowling around the wicket probably more
05:34 than he did in, say, 2015.
05:36 He's got plenty of tools at his disposal.
05:39 And it's pretty amazing that he's
05:42 been able to keep up the pace for that long as well.
05:44 And outfield aside, where does this ground
05:47 rank in terms of the most picturesque?
05:50 Yeah, it's right up there.
05:52 Yeah, you think of Cape Town, this one's probably--
05:55 yeah, just beautiful.
05:57 As soon as we got off the bus, everyone
05:59 goes right out the front, gets their phone out,
06:01 starts taking photos.
06:02 You've just got to do it when you're here.
06:04 It's beautiful, beautiful, clean air.
06:06 Looking up at Snowcap Mountains is great.
06:09 Pat, just wanted to ask about the roller coaster of Glenn
06:12 Maxwell, like the Golden Duck against Pakistan,
06:14 and then the other night.
06:16 A, have you been in a partnership like that before,
06:19 where I think you made eight out of 100 and something?
06:22 Don't need to focus on that, mate.
06:23 100-run partnership.
06:24 Yeah, you're sporting him well.
06:25 But what's that like to watch?
06:28 And then how important is he to have him firing
06:31 for the rest of the tournament?
06:33 Yeah, that was just insane the other night.
06:37 Yeah, you know Max has got that in him.
06:40 And with that kind of play, you know
06:43 they're not going to do that every game.
06:45 He does it often enough to be worried every time he walks out
06:48 there if you're the opposition.
06:51 So I was lucky to be down the other end, see it firsthand.
06:55 Just the creativity that he seems
06:59 to have to find boundaries in just different spots,
07:02 just incredibly.
07:04 He said to me with three or four overs left,
07:06 he goes I just want to face many balls here
07:09 and own these last four overs.
07:12 And he did it.
07:12 So yeah, just insane.
07:14 And I thought his bowling this tournament
07:16 has been fantastic so far.
07:18 And as we saw the other night, he's a superstar.
07:21 Pat, we're having a day game after a long time
07:26 of day and night cricket.
07:27 Your thoughts on that, and how does
07:29 that change your permutation combinations and planning
07:31 going into it?
07:33 Yeah, it feels a bit more like a test match
07:35 getting up in the morning and turning up here.
07:39 So yeah, a little bit different to what we used to.
07:42 Yeah, we'll have a bit of a think this afternoon
07:46 to see if that changes anything to do with say the toss.
07:48 Or obviously at light, maybe you swing on the lights
07:53 is a bit of a fact you think about.
07:55 So yeah, I have a think.
07:59 Pat, just further to Barat's questions,
08:02 you're still a fairly young ODI captain,
08:04 but you talk about role specific roles for the bowlers.
08:08 Does that require you to tell yourself
08:10 to hold your nerve when a guy's gone for 25 or 30 off two overs
08:13 and you know it's the plan, but it's looking pretty ugly?
08:19 Yeah, you've got to--
08:21 yeah, it's all a balance.
08:22 I mean, luckily in our team, we've got plenty of options.
08:25 So it always feels like you can balance between plans a lot.
08:29 Like it does feel like a real luxury.
08:30 But yeah, you've got to know when to cut your losses as well.
08:37 There are times where you can't create anything out of thin air.
08:40 The ball's not doing too much.
08:42 You're bowling cross seam.
08:43 It's a good wicket.
08:44 So there are times where you just feel like you need to hang on
08:47 and change plans.
08:49 Pat, just on Josh, about three or four years ago,
08:55 bowlers like him who was just so consistent
08:57 were not getting picked because they were quote unquote
09:01 "too predictable."
09:03 Now that he and some other bowlers like him
09:06 who can just bowl line and length
09:08 have made such a good comeback, what kind of luxury
09:10 does he provide you as a bowling unit
09:12 when you know that this guy is not going
09:14 to go for more than 50 any game?
09:18 I mean, he's been consistent his whole career.
09:22 He's been a gun.
09:23 So I don't think him being predictable
09:26 has ever been a problem.
09:27 He's-- yeah, I think even in some of those times
09:31 when he wasn't in the team, he was ranked number one or two
09:34 in the world.
09:34 So he's fantastic.
09:36 He's another one who I think now can bowl at any time.
09:41 But you know, you're going to get quality up front.
09:43 And as you said, consistent just rarely gets hit off his length.
09:49 And just, yeah, again, another real luxury
09:52 having someone like him in the team.
09:54 So just to continue on the rivalry with New Zealand,
09:58 if you look at other cricket rivalries--
10:00 India, Pakistan, or even yourself in England--
10:02 there's a bit of nastiness.
10:04 There's a bit of--
10:05 there's a lot of acrimony between teams,
10:07 but not with New Zealand.
10:08 How does that work out?
10:10 I mean, would you rather it be more competitive as in--
10:16 yeah, no, but if it was a little nasty,
10:19 would it get you going more than it does?
10:23 I think so.
10:24 I think most of the Kiwis are pretty placid,
10:27 and we're pretty similar.
10:28 As I said, we've played a lot of cricket with these guys.
10:31 And some of them are really good mates of some of our players.
10:35 So yeah, if anything, it makes you
10:39 want to beat your mates even more.
10:42 But yeah, it'll be intense out there.
10:46 Yeah.
10:47 Pat, this Dharamsala attack hasn't
10:49 been the easiest in terms of batting,
10:51 and especially coming from that Delhi game.
10:53 What's your approach in terms of handling the track?
10:56 Because there's a Santner, there's Ampau,
10:59 slow bowlers are doing really well.
11:00 And apart from that England game where they scored over 300,
11:03 every other score has been near about 250, 260.
11:06 So what's your approach in terms of the track
11:08 here, especially coming from that Delhi game?
11:12 Yeah, it's a new venue.
11:13 You've got to assess when you're out there what you think
11:15 is going to be a good score.
11:17 So yeah, it might not be a 400 run game or innings.
11:25 But yeah, we talk a lot about playing what's in front of you,
11:29 assess the conditions.
11:31 And as a batter, you build your innings around that.
11:34 As a bowler, we assess what's going to work,
11:35 whether it's cutters, swing.
11:37 So yeah, new venue, we'll just make sure
11:39 we're looking at it closely.
11:42 Pat, just about when Travis Head does come back in,
11:46 Steve Smith spoke to us the other day.
11:48 And he said about batting at number four,
11:50 he would prefer number three.
11:52 That's his position.
11:54 What has that chat been like?
11:55 And how many times have you had to have that chat with him
11:58 to convince him to go down one position?
12:00 I think he said himself, do whatever is best for the team.
12:06 And Travis has been amazing over the last 12 months.
12:11 Mitch Marsh at the top has been amazing.
12:13 Davey Warner's obviously a superstar up there.
12:15 So we think that's the best way to set up the team.
12:20 And we're really excited with how the batting
12:23 lineup looks like that.
12:24 So no, it's been fine.
12:28 Yeah, we all do some roles that maybe you're not--
12:32 is your preference.
12:34 But it's what's best for the team, so it's fine.
12:37 Pat, you mentioned close friends in other teams.
12:39 I imagine you would've been heartbroken to see England
12:42 suffer a defeat last night.
12:44 What was your reaction to that, given you've got them
12:46 in a couple of games' time?
12:49 Yeah.
12:51 Yeah, obviously got them in a couple of games' time.
12:53 So we'll have a close look there.
12:55 But yeah, it's sad to see.
13:00 Don't have much for it.
13:01 Has the margin of victory and defeat in this World Cup
13:09 surprised you at all?
13:10 Like when teams are winning the winning real big
13:12 and you're losing quite badly, have you
13:14 managed to kind of pinpoint on why this is so?
13:17 I think a lot of the time you speak about chasing
13:26 down whatever the opposition puts up.
13:30 I think this tournament, the trend for most of the teams
13:32 has been you put a big score on the board,
13:34 and then as you're searching for a run rate,
13:40 you fall well short.
13:41 So yeah, I don't know.
13:43 It has been surprising.
13:44 There haven't been too many super close,
13:47 right down to the wire games.
13:48 But yeah.