New Delhi: Australia will face South Africa in the of the three-match series in Durban on October 9. Ahead of the high-profile series, Australia captain said that the team must become better at grinding out results in Test cricket rather than relying heavily on strong individual performances.
“For the batsmen and for the bowling group as well, getting into that grind is important. We haven’t played too many of those kinds of test matches in the last few years, particularly in Australia. They’ve been quite fast-paced,” Cummins said at the press conference in Durban.
He further added that a lot of Australia’s success has often been built around big individual moments, such as a century from Travis Head or Mitchell Starc’s ability to run through the opposition’s top order.
“I think we’ve got to get a little bit better, and we can get a bit better getting into the grind. It might not be the glamorous stuff, but it’s that grinding out of sessions, not these whirlwind innings at times. Whatever tempo gets thrown at us or what the game needs, we must make sure we match that,” he added.
Australia’s last match against Bangladesh in August ended in just two days, as did two of the five tests against England in the Ashes series, which was played Down Under between November 2025 and January 2026.
‘We don’t know our team at this stage’
Australia have delayed announcing their playing XI, while South Africa captain Temba Bavuma had earlier revealed their line-up for the series opener. Cummins said that they don’t know their team yet as the selectors will come into the ground and then they’ll have one more look at the surface.
“We’re trying to work out what we think is the best batting line-up for these conditions. Obviously, Cam Green’s out and Josh Inglis isn’t here as well. So that’s a couple of changes that we’ve got to match up. What are the conditions going to throw at us? We’ve got a full squad. Everyone brings something a little bit different and it’s just trying to work out what we think the best combinations are,” he added.
The 1st Test between South Africa and Australia will begin at 1:30 PM (IST), with the live telecast on Eurosport and live streaming on the Fancode app and website.