Pat Cummins defended Australia’s team selection and sees no reason to “reinvent the wheel” after they suffered a humiliating defeat in the first Test against India.
The tourists were hammered by an innings and 132 runs on day three at the Vidarbha Cricket Association Ground, where they were bowled out for only 91 in their second innings.
That was their lowest Test total in India, spinner Ravichandran Ashwin doing the bulk of the damage in Nagpur on Saturday with figures of 5-37.
Eyebrows were raised when batter Travis Head was omitted from the side for the opening Test, with Peter Handscomb and Matt Renshaw preferred to a left-hander who is the number-four ranked Test batter in the world.
Renshaw and Handscomb failed to make their mark in the middle order, but Australia captain Cummins has no regrets over the team that was picked.
The fast bowler said: “We were confident it was our best 11 this week. We know the quality Trav is. He’s a huge part of this team but we were confident in the 11 guys out there.
“He’s been really good around the group. He’s been out the back working really hard on his game like he always does.”
Mitchell Starc is set to return for the second Test in Delhi after recovering from a finger injury, but doubts remain over fellow quick Josh Hazlewood (Achilles) and all-rounder Cameron Green (broken finger).
“Starcy lands today or tomorrow into Delhi,” Cummins said. “I think Joshy might not quite be ready for Delhi. He’s getting up and running now, he’s pretty close, but I don’t think he’ll be quite ready for Delhi.
“Greeny’s a bit of a wait-and-see. We’re still hoping. He’s had a couple of good hits out here. His bowling is pretty good, so over the next couple of days we’ll assess it.”
Australia remain on course to play in the World Test Championship final, with India potentially their opponents at The Oval in June, so Cummins is not reaching for the panic button after a crushing loss.
He said: “I think sometimes it’s almost easier to put those kind of losses behind you. You are looking at small margins. You have to have a hard look at your game and the big strides you need to change to give yourself the best chance next week.
“We’ve had a really good run in the last 12 months. There hasn’t been many losses in that changing room. I don’t think we need to reinvent the wheel. It’s just tweaking different approaches to how we play and maybe particular methods.”
Meanwhile, India all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja – the player of the match in Nagpur – has been fined 25 per cent of his match fee by the International Cricket Council and given one demerit point for applying soothing cream to his finger without permission from the umpires on day one.
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