Record awaits as Storm seeks to wrap up minor premiership
THE 2.5m slope at Lord’s can get into bowler’s heads but Pat Cummins said it was “just a cricket pitch” and he’s brimming with so much Ashes confidence he could get wickets on a strip of concrete.
Going from side to side, not end to end, putting the pitch at a slight angle, the slope is already a talking point ahead of the second Test with first inspections of the Lord’s wicket revealing a surface which could be very flat.
Bowlers are thought to benefit more from the “unique” nature of the wicket than batsmen, although man of the moment Steve Smith did plunder 215 when he last played a Test at the venue in 2015.
Australian coach Justin Langer captained English county side Middlesex, which plays home games at Lord’s, and his match planning will include taking his bowlers through all the nuances they need to know.
But Cummins, who was there in 2015 but “running drinks”, said he wouldn’t let the idea of the slope get to him. "It's a funny one, it seems like everyone has a theory on which end to bowl here,” Cummins said after his first practice session following the opener victory at Edgbaston.
“People reckon they nip it down the hill, people reckon they nip it up the hill, I've got no idea. You normally settle into an end, I haven't bowled enough here, played one-dayers and haven't found too much of a difference, but don't know.”
Cummins has taken five wickets in three one-day games at Lord’s, but none against England during the World Cup. He said the slope wasn’t a “massive factor”.
“I think every time you play here it comes up and it's just one of those nuances of this ground, but it's still a cricket pitch. I don't think it makes too much of a difference,” he said.
Cummins is a certainty to play at Lord’s after his seven-wicket haul in the opening win at Edgbaston, including four second innings wickets to help propel Australia to the win.
He said he would “love” to play all five Tests, but was fully buying in to the squad mentality of the fast bowling group which he thinks could be the most important thing for Australia’s Ashes success. MELBOURNE is on track to add another record to one of the most dominant regular seasons in NRL history if the Storm can manage to wrap up the minor premiership this weekend.
Already six points clear of the chasing pack, the Storm will guarantee top spot if they beat Canberra on Saturday and the Sydney Roosters are beaten by the Warriors.
In doing so, it will mark the first time a team has secured the JJ Giltinan Shield with three rounds to play since Brisbane in 2000.
It comes after Melbourne lost Cooper Cronk and Billy Slater in successive years as they push for a fourth-straight grand final.
“We obviously have some young faces in the team and that’s the good thing about this side,” Cameron Munster said.
“We’ve got some young players coming through who are hungry for the opportunity.
“You can tell with the way they take it.
“Ryan Papenhuyzen great example.
“We’ve got the young boys who want to come through and learn off the older boys.”
Melbourne has lost just one game in regular time this seais a son, a two-point defeat to Cronulla in May, with their defeats to the Sydney Roosters and Manly both in golden point.
“If we can keep improving each week I’m confident we can have a good crack come the finals,” Munster said of his side.
“We can hopefully keep that dynasty and successful reign going.”