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Australia captain Pat Cummins has turned his attention to the upcoming ICC World Test Championship series against South Africa, which will play a crucial role in determining the teams that qualify for next year's final.
Cummins claimed six wickets as Australia secured an emphatic innings-and-51-run victory over Bangladesh inside two days in Mackay on Sunday. The Australians now have some time to prepare before embarking on a three-Test tour of South Africa in October, a rematch of last year's World Test Championship Final at Lord's. The series against the Proteas could well serve as a preview of the 2027 World Test Championship Final, with Australia and South Africa currently occupying the top two positions in the standings. With qualification for next year's summit clash at stake, Cummins expects a fiercely contested series against the reigning champions. "They're a really strong side," Cummins said of South Africa as per the ICC website. "We had a big series against them here in Australia a couple of years back and we probably exceeded expectations, played really well, and then they got us back at Lord's last year and outplayed us there," he added. Only six players in the current Australian squad have previously played a Test in South Africa. Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood, Nathan Lyon, Steve Smith and Matt Renshaw were all part of Australia's most recent tour of the country in 2018. Australia will play Tests in Durban, Gqeberha and Cape Town during the three-match series, with Cummins expecting a variety of conditions and a stern challenge for his side. "(These are) places we haven't played Test cricket for a while, so conditions are always a little bit unknown," Cummins noted. "Even the difference between Durban to Cape Town, they could be quite different styles of pitches. It's going to be great. That's why I love playing Test cricket. All different conditions, different opponents, different parts of the world," he added. Prior to that Test series in October, Australia will play three ODI contests against Zimbabwe in Harare, before another three 50-over fixtures against the Proteas at the end of September prior to the commencement of the World Test Championship series. While Cummins has only played a pair of ODIs for Australia since their memorable triumph over India at the most recent ICC Men's Cricket World Cup in 2023, the Australia captain is aiming to feature at some stage against the Proteas. "I think I'll be part of at least some of it," Cummins said with one eye on the 2027 World Cup that South Africa will co-host with Zimbabwe and Namibia. "I'm not sure I should say this, but the focus is the Test series. So with a lot of the (upcoming) white-ball (matches), how we play that would be with an eye to the red ball. I'd imagine (I would play) one, two or maximum three games out of those six (ODIs)," he concluded. (ANI)
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