Aussies consider unleashing pace quartet
London – Australia must decide whether to play all of their “fearsome foursome” of Josh Hazlewood, Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc and James Pattinson in their Champions Trophy opener against New Zealand at Edgbason in Birmingham today.
Injuries have meant the quartet of fast bowlers have rarely all been fit at the same time and Australia may decide it’s too much of a risk fielding all four in the same team, with John Hastings – who has plenty of English county experience – also in the squad.
For Cummins (right), whose career has been blighted by several back stress fractures, just being in contention again is a relief.
The 24-year-old made his international debut in 2011, yet the fact he’s played just three Tests and 28 one-day internationals since then is testament to how much time he has spent on the treatment table.
But he now believes his body can withstand the rigours of international cricket.
“I now feel that because I’m a couple of years older, and because I had a full off-season at pretty low intensity, my body was a bit more hardened than it used to be when I did come back,” Cummins explained.
Left-arm fast bowler Starc, arguably the world’s leading exponent of the yorker, has recovered from a foot injury that cut short his tour of India, while Pattinson has returned from shin and back problems.
The original 1970s West Indies “fearsome foursome” of Andy Roberts, Michael Holding, Colin Croft and Joel Garner paved the way for a succession of Caribbean pace attacks that dominated world cricket for some 20 years.
Now Australia hope they have a potent quartet of their own, with coach Darren Lehmann saying: “It would be great to see them go at it and see how they go.”
Australia also boast one of the most powerful top orders in ODI cricket, with captain Steve Smith and opener David Warner outstanding batsmen in all formats.
They could add extra firepower by including Chris Lynn, who shot to worldwide prominence earlier this year with a sensational Indian Premier League campaign, averaging nearly 50 for the Kolkata Knight Riders.
New Zealand beat Australia in a thrilling pool match in Auckland at the 2015 World Cup only to lose to their trans-Tasman rivals in the final in Melbourne.