Ashes 2021-22 | Won't ask for rest unless I have got something going wrong, says Pat Cummins

The T20 World Cup title winners are currently quarantined in a hotel in Gold Coast, and will begin their preparations for the five-match Ashes Test series against England after the isolation period. The first Test match of the Ashes tour is scheduled to begin on December 8 in Brisbane.

Pat Cummins, who opted out of the limited-overs tours to the West Indies and Bangladesh, has joined the mandatory bio-bubble, and is currently undergoing the quarantine period along with his teammates. The Australia vice-captain has not featured in any first-class matches since February 2021.

Meanwhile, Cummins stated that he has not sustained any niggles in a couple of years, and his body feels good ahead of the Ashes tour. The Australian pacer further added that bowling short spells have kept him really fresh for the Test series.

"My body feels as good as it has in a couple of years. There's no niggles. I think the first, I guess, benefit of the short spells is we're all feeling really fresh. I always feel like it's better to be underdone than overdone coming into a big Test series, Cummins said. 

"For now it's just trying to work back from that day one, get a few good bowls in, I think. We've got access to quite a few centre wickets. So we'll have three, four, five centre wickets where we try and have relatively big days, you know, bowl a couple of spells on those days. And we'll be ready to go. And we had a similar prep last year and all felt really good going into that Adelaide first Test."

Speaking on Australia's pace unit for the Ashes tour, the 28-year-old stated that the team has got a huge pool of fast bowlers who can slot in if required. The Australia vice-captain further added that he will not demand rest during the five-match Test series unless something goes wrong for him.

"When someone's I guess rested it is normally more to it than just purely workload. There's always niggles and small little injuries that we're dealing with, basically after every single Test match.

"The great thing is we've got a huge stable of fast bowlers. So yeah, I don't think it'll be a huge issue if someone's not able to get up for a Test or someone's just red-lining a little bit. Someone else can slot in.

"I'd be surprised if the same four bowlers were used for all five Tests. That's pretty rare, especially the five-Test match summer. But I certainly won't be putting my hand up to be rested unless I've got something going wrong," the New South Wales-born player added.