Aim is now to find a place in the T20 World Cup squad, says Pat Cummins

Australian coach Justin Langer admitted prior to the Ashes Tests that it would be humanly impossible for any pacer to get through all five Tests, but against all odds, Pat Cummins rose to the occasion and threw everything he had at the English to ensure that his side retained the Ashes for the first time since 2001.

Thanks to Australia’s fragile batting, Cummins was on the field for almost the entirety of the series and remarkably bowled close to 100 overs in the final two Tests of the series. The 26-year-old has now admitted that the intensity of the matches took a toll on his body, but is now raring to go once again after getting his batteries recharged.

"It was a really tense series, so it felt like every day's play was quite exhausting. I felt like I needed a break,” Cummins told cricket.com.au.

"Those last two weeks I bowled close to 100 overs. That was pretty taxing. But I’ve had a good week off, so feeling pretty good now," he added.

Now, after mastering the art of Test cricket, Cummins has now set his focus on the game’s shortest format, with one of his primary goals being to find a place for himself in the WT20 that will happen in Australia next year. With Australia all set to play six T20Is on the trot against Sri Lanka and Pakistan, the 26-year-old feels that this would be the ideal opportunity for him to find his feet in T20 cricket and make a case for his inclusion in the global showdown.

"The last year has been a real one-day focus leading into the (50-over) World Cup. I think we'll see a shift. We've got 20-odd games before that T20 World Cup. Personally I want to be in that World Cup squad, so I want to play as many of those games as possible.

"There’s a lot I want to work on in T20 cricket, so it's good there's more opportunity now to concentrate on that with six games in a row (to start the summer). I don't feel like I've had that in a long time,” Cummins said.

Having predominantly stuck to the conventional style of bowling in the past few months, Cummins is now keen to experiment on variations and feels that the six upcoming T20Is provides him with the perfect window to hone his skills in his ultimate quest to earn a place in the WT20 squad.

"I've been bowling heaps so I feel like my rhythm is there, it's just about trying to work on yorkers, slower balls and different field placements I haven’t tried since the (ODI) World Cup," explained Cummins.

“Hopefully it doesn't take too long to work on that. Then it's back into red ball (cricket) after that. We've got six T20s all in a row, so I feel like you can put more attention into that rather than a quick in-and-out series," Cummins concluded. 

Australia will play the first of six T20Is against Sri Lanka on October 27th in Adelaide.