Australian captain Pat Cummins said the team management is keeping a close watch on the fitness of all-rounder Marcus Stoinis, who has picked up a hamstring injury, ahead of their World Cup match against India in Chennai on Sunday. Cummins said Stoinis would be put through his paces in the next few hours before taking a final call on the Western Australian cricketer. “We’ll announce a team tomorrow at the toss. Stoinis, yeah, still touch and go. He’s going to have a run out soon, but probably up against it. He’s got to jump through a few hoops. Yeah, we’ll see,” said Cummins on Saturday during his pre-match press meet.
However, Cummins was not really perturbed because his side has a wonderful array of all-rounders who can step in for Stoinis.
“I think in one-day cricket more than any other formats you need all-rounders — you’ve got to try and find 50 overs.
“So, we feel really blessed to have people like Cam (Cameron) Green, Mitch Marsh, Glenn Maxwell in the side. They’re like gold. It means you can bat deeper so we feel in a really good place,” he said.
Cummins hoped that Mitchell Marsh would produce a big effort in the World Cup, as the Aussies search for their sixth World Cup triumph.
“First of all, just his size. He’s huge. He’s super powerful, can clear the ropes easily. He had an amazing T20 World Cup in 2021. He’s one of those guys that is intimidating to bowl to.
“Top of your mark, you look and it’s a big human on the other end and you know he can hit the ball a long way. Hopefully, you see plenty of that in this series,” he added.
Leg-spinner Adam Zampa suffered a rather freak bruise on his face during a swimming session when he collided against the pool wall.
However, Cummins allayed any concerns over the leg-spinner.
“He swam into the pool wall apparently. He said he had his eyes closed and thought he was swimming in a straight line and swam into the step in the pool.
“So, (he) looks impressive. He’s all good. He’s just a little bit sore. But yeah, he’s right to go,” said Cummins.
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