Monday, May 21, 2012

Arthur's delight at Cummins return

Mickey Arthur has made no bones about the fact he is positively beaming about the return of exciting youngster Pat Cummins to the Australia one-day international squad.

The Westmead teenager burst onto the scene with a seven-wicket haul on Test debut against South Africa last November but has seen his fledgling international career blighted by injury.

The 19-year-old picked up a foot injury against the same opposition and it has been a slow road to recovery.

Now, he gets the chance to make up for his time as Australia look to defy cricket bets and odds against when they face old rivals England during the one-day series, and stake a claim for an Ashes place.

Arthur also indicated Cummins and Mitchell Johnson, also brought back to the international fold after a foot injury, could be used to beef up the Australia attack in what promises to be another compelling series next year.

Arthur revealed: "The player I am most excited about is Pat Cummins, we all saw what he could do in his one and only Test match and to have him back in the mix is fantastic."

Arthur said the upcoming tour of the UK, and the chance to learn about the opposition and tactics, would prove invaluable for right-arm fast Cummins.

He added: "He has the ability to become one of the best in the world. He and Patto will take a huge amount out of this tour, we hope they both will be firing this time next year when we go to England to claim The Ashes back and drawing on the experience of touring the UK before will certainly give them an edge."

The Australia coach said it was imperative his players struck a psychological blow to England ahead of next year, and those that bet on Australian cricket will surely take note of his words.

He said: "We are all having some time off now after what was a long summer for us but rest assured we want to put a marker down on this UK tour and leave a strong message that we are coming to get The Ashes in 2013."

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