Australian cricket team leader Pat Cummins anticipates that all-rounders Cameron Green and Mitchell Marsh will have a heavier role in bowling during the upcoming Border-Gavaskar Trophy against India this summer.
Cummins hopes that both Green and Marsh will help distribute the bowling responsibilities alongside the main fast bowlers in the challenging five-Test series beginning in November.
“It’s been really beneficial (having the all-rounders). In some ways, we haven’t needed to rely on them as much as we initially thought. That’s a good thing. The past few summers have had relatively short Test matches,” Cummins mentioned at an event.
“I think this summer could be a little different at times. We’ll be relying on Cam Green and Mitch Marsh more often.
“Even though Cam mainly started in Shield cricket as a bowler, he hasn’t had to bowl much in Test matches. Now that he’s a few years older, I believe we’ll be depending on him more,” he continued.
The 25-year-old Green has taken 35 wickets with an average of 35.31 in his 28 Test matches so far.”
“The main thing is that both Green and Marsh can easily be in the top six players just based on their batting skills, which is great,” Cummins mentioned.
“We’re fortunate that Nathan Lyon bowls a lot, so we don’t always need a player who can both bat and bowl, but having that extra bowler is very helpful.
“With Cameron and Mitchell, we have six players who can bowl. It’s a really good situation to be in. The top six players should always be chosen based on their batting abilities.”
Cummins’ fellow bowlers have talked about how having a captain who also bowls has helped the team in managing everyone’s workload.
“Cummins said, ‘It’s kind of them to say that, but they wouldn’t say it directly to me.’
He added, ‘When I’m asking them to do something, they know I’m doing it too on the other side. Maybe they trust me more because we’ve been working together for about ten years.’”
