Cummins spoke at the MCG on Sunday ahead of the first ODI of the summer against Pakistan, which will be his first international appearance since the T20 World Cup in June after missing the tour of the UK in September.
Cummins said he had been keeping an eye on Mackay’s scores and stressed the quartet would likely have another chance to impress in the second four-day game at the MCG starting on Thursday. But he added that Australia’s A games are not the end all be all when it comes to selection for the first Test.
“I think it’s kind of a final piece of information,” Cummins said. “It’s never as clean as a bat. Some of these guys have only played a few games of Shield cricket, and then there are other guys who have played for over a decade.
“That last couple of weeks, is it really important? It has some importance, but it’s not going to drive 100% of the decision. So it’s the last part of the decision.”
“In some respects, there’s a lot of pressure in those last two games, which, whether you like it or not, is probably what you’re going to get in Test cricket anyway. So I guess, again, whoever gets picked, anyway , they’ve experienced as much pressure as they could have on a Test debut, which means they’re pretty well placed.”
Cummins was not worried about having to make the decision quite late, given that Australia’s current selection panel and leadership group have preferred to give players more certainty in the recent past.
“I don’t think it’s a new problem,” Cummins said. “The good thing is, if it’s a batting role we’re looking at, whoever is picked, you’d think they’d come off a lot of runs at the start of the year, and they’d be well positioned. The reality is you’re trying to make as big a debut as possible. as comfortable as possible for someone, but whoever it is, they will feel nervous. I imagine I will wake up one morning and they will tell me that they are playing.
“You could do it,” Cummins said. “Again, maybe once we start discussing who is in the side, then you start looking at the batting order.
“Ronnie [Andrew McDonald] and I’ve said it enough, we believe that where you bat is not that important. You’re trying to figure out how the batting order as a whole will work best. And I don’t think anyone should be overly protective in a certain place.”
Meanwhile, Cummins said he felt physically fresher than he has in a long time after skipping the T20I and ODI tour of the UK to undergo a major training block in Sydney to prepare for the summer. He also explained his decision not to play a Shield game before the first Test.
“If I had to play here in Melbourne, I probably would have had to start bowling two or three weeks earlier,” he said. “So we made the decision to have two extra weeks to develop in the gym and prioritize that. I feel like I’ve done it for quite a while, so I feel like the ODIs will give me a good opportunity.” “Firstly and obviously the two weeks leading up to the first Test, we will make sure we do a lot of center wickets and red ball wickets to try and replicate it.”
Cummins said he was not sure about playing all three ODIs against Pakistan. He confirmed he would play the first two, but looks likely to miss the final match in Perth to avoid a return flight across the country, a week before having to make the same trip for the Perth Test.
Missing the Perth match will mean Australia will have to find a captain, with ODI vice-captain Mitchell Marsh missing the series while on paternity leave.
Smith and Josh Hazlewood have led the ODI team previously, but there is a chance they could both also be rested from the trip to Perth for the same reasons as Cummins.
