Pat Cummins warned on Tuesday that an Australian side bragging about some of “the greats of all time” will be hard to beat, as England’s task got harder with Jimmy Anderson missing the first test. The home team head to the Ashes opener in Brisbane on Wednesday to defend the sacred urn and with their arch-rivals who have a dismal record in Australia, losing nine of their last 10 Tests. The hurdles for Joe Root’s men have been raised even higher with reports that veteran spearhead Anderson – Test cricket’s most prolific fast bowler – will not be playing in the Gabba.
“Obviously he’s a great player and it’s a shame he won’t be there tomorrow, but it won’t change what we’re going to do,” said the Australian captain, who will take charge of his first test.
With Anderson’s apparent absence, England must pick four bowlers from Chris Woakes, Mark Wood, Ollie Robinson, Stuart Broad and Jack Leach to play alongside returning all-rounder Ben Stokes.
They were already without pacers Jofra Archer, who is not on tour because he is recovering from an elbow injury, and Olly Stone who had to miss due to back surgery.
The news comes a day after England captain Joe Root refused to reveal his squad despite Australia confirming their starting squad this weekend.
Cummins, who took the lead when Tim Paine retired due to a texting scandal, nominated Root, the world’s number one Test batsman, as the top wicket for Australia.
“He’s going to be on top there as the biggest wicket, he’s had a really good last 12 months or so, but I wouldn’t necessarily say he’s going to make it or break it for them,” he said.
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Cummins did suggest England could compete against an Australian side that includes superstar batsmen Steve Smith and David Warner and bowling giants Josh Hazlewood and Nathan Lyon.
“I look around our team and we have a pretty special side,” he said, although Australia hasn’t played a test since January due to Covid.
“We have some of the all-time greats of Australian cricket in our dressing room and if most of them click we will be a pretty tough team to beat.
“We get on really well and have a lot of fun, so hopefully a close-knit group. We enjoy our cricket and we’re ruthless when we get the chance to play,” he added.
England haven’t won a Test in Brisbane since 1986 and have only won four times – twice in the 1930s, once against the Kerry Packer-weakened Australians from 1978-79 and 35 years ago during Ian Botham’s heyday
But Root insisted that the first test, where showers are forecast, would “not define” their Ashes campaign.
“Avoiding defeat would definitely be a brilliant start to the series,” he told BBC Sport on Tuesday.
“In many ways, we have nothing to lose by coming here for this series.
“Ultimately, we need to focus on what’s ahead of us now and get the test match off to a good start, get into the series and sort out everything else that happens on Ashes first morning and take the game from there.”
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Australia XI: Marcus Harris, David Warner, Marnus Labuschagne, Steve Smith, Travis Head, Cameron Green, Alex Carey, Pat Cummins (capt), Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon, Josh Hazlewood
England (out): Joe Root (capt), James Anderson, Jonathan Bairstow, Dom Bess, Stuart Broad, Rory Burns, Jos Buttler, Zak Crawley, Haseeb Hameed, Dan Lawrence, Jack Leach, Dawid Malan, Craig Overton, Ollie Pope, Ollie Robinson, Ben Stokes Chris Woakes, Mark Wood.
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