Pat Cummins said a victory against England will be sweeter than usual for Australia, especially if it tightens his team’s hold onto the World Cup semifinals.
“It [a win] helps our chances to get into the semifinals. It has been an old rivalry so it’s probably a little bit sweeter than beating other teams,” Cummins said ahead of their match on Saturday.
Without the services of star all-rounder Glenn Maxwell, who suffered a concussion after falling from a golf cart, Cummins voiced his opinion in favour of a larger squad for World Cups. “It is a two-month tournament. I always think as many players as you need, you should be able to pick from,” he said.
Mitchell Marsh, too, was ruled out after returning to Australia for personal reasons. Cummins added that his side had moved on from the ‘spirit of cricket’ controversy surrounding Jonny Bairstow’s run out during the Ashes in July. Bairstow was run out by Alex Carey after he walked out of the crease assuming the delivery to be dead. “That was a couple of months ago. It’s done. It’s a new game, a new tournament,” Cummins said.
While England came to terms with the grim reality after its poor show against India last week, Ben Stokes insisted that his team had much at stake in its remaining games.
“We’ve had a disastrous World Cup, and there’s no point sugar-coating the truth. I think the biggest thing that we’ve got to play for is obviously the pride of what it is to put the Three Lions on your chest,” Stokes said.
The England red-ball captain, who came out of retirement for the quadrennial showpiece, came under the scanner for not bowling during the tournament.
“It’s probably the first time since I’ve had this knee issue where it’s been quite clear that I’m not going to be bowling,” Stokes said. He added that he’ll undergo knee surgery after the World Cup. “I will be fine for the Test Series in India. But yeah, I am having surgery after the World Cup.”
