Two of the top-ranked teams - India and Australia - will square off in the second edition of the World Test Championship final at a neutral venue, making the contest even more compelling. The 2023 WTC final will be played between June 7 and June 11 at The Oval, London. Ahead of the marquee contest, Australia captain Pat Cummins addressed the team's problem where most of its players haven't played professional cricket in the last two months.
Except for David Warner and Cameron Green, who were involved in the Indian Premier League (IPL) and Steve Smith and Marnus Labuschagne, who played County cricket, the remaining players in Australia's WTC final squad are fresh and lack match practice heading into a big-ticket finale.
Cummins doesn't mind staying a bit undercooked going into the high-octane WTC final against India rather than playing two months of T20 cricket and landing up jaded for a grueling English summer.
"Breaks are rare to come by," Cummins said during an ICC event 'Afternoon With Test Legends' on Sunday.
"I have always said, with six Test matches (including five in the Ashes), it is better to be slightly underdone than overdone. I am talking from a bowler's point of view. So I want to be physically fresh.
"Back home, we did a lot of training. We have trained hard, rejuvenated and refreshed and are keen," he added.
Terming the track as a good one with a lot of bounce, Cummins exuded confidence that his team has enough bowlers to exploit the conditions.
"You need to know your moments to push for wickets. We need to get 20 wickets and there is no point trying everything in the first innings. We have plenty of bowlers to be used at different times," Cummins said.
Australia have a dismal record of only two wins in last 50 years in Tests at the Oval, and their overall win percentage at the South London ground is a mere 14 percent.
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