Pat Cummins likely to skip Zimbabwe ODIs; to use 50-over leg of South Africa tour for Test prep

Pat Cummins is likely to miss the ODI series against Zimbabwe and use the 50‑over leg of the South Africa tour to prepare for the three‑match Test series against the Proteas. Cummins has played only two ODIs since the ODI World Cup 2023 final against India on November 19, 2023.

Australia's ODI tour of Zimbabwe gets underway on September 15 with the series opener. The second and third ODIs will be played on September 18 and 20, respectively.

"I think I will be part of at least some of it. I am not sure I should say this, but I think the focus is on the Test series. So a lot of the white‑ball series, and how we play that, would be with an eye on the red ball," Cummins said after Australia's convincing win in Mackay. "So I would imagine it would be one, two, probably a maximum of three games out of those six.

"We will probably all have, I imagine, a week or two off bowling, still do your gym work, and then we will start building up for that series. I will probably have an extra week here if I do not play the Zimbabwe matches."

This will be Australia's first Test tour of South Africa since the 2018 Sandpapergate scandal, which rocked the nation and resulted in bans for Steven Smith, David Warner and Cameron Bancroft. The Kangaroos have visited the Rainbow Nation twice, in 2020 and 2023, since the incident.

They were also scheduled to travel to South Africa in 2021 for a Test series, but the tour was called off due to COVID. The Proteas, led by Temba Bavuma, beat Australia in the final of the ICC World Test Championship at Lord's last year.

"They are a really strong side," Cummins said. "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.

"So it is going to be big, obviously, in their home conditions and places we have not played Test cricket in for a while. Conditions are always a little bit unknown. Even the difference between Durban and Cape Town can be quite different in terms of pitches. It is going to be great. That is why I love playing Test cricket. It is all different conditions, different opponents, different parts of the world. I cannot wait."