Coin toss for Cummins as pitches give pause for thought

Pat Cummins will be given until the last-possible minute to prove he has recovered from the mild strain to his right quadriceps and is sufficiently fit to lead Australia into the second NRMA Insurance Test against West Indies starting Thursday.

Cummins did not bowl in the final innings of yesterday's 164-run win at Perth Stadium, and even though he rated his chances of being passed fit as "pretty good", national selectors today added Queensland seamer Michael Neser and uncapped WA quick Lance Morris to a 15-man squad as cover.

Men's team coach (and selector) Andrew McDonald confirmed the inclusion of two auxiliary quicks was necessary to ensure Australia had sufficient options to take a balanced attack into the day-night Test at Adelaide Oval, and not because other incumbent bowlers were in doubt.

McDonald also claimed Cummins' recovery program for the quad strain – which the Test captain yesterday described as a one-week injury – effectively began when the West Indies completed their first innings last Friday and he started receiving treatment.

"We feel as though he's 50-50 for the next Test match at the moment," McDonald said today, as the team prepared to fly out of Perth having already retained the Frank Worrell Trophy.

"The first step will be that he's rid of all the symptoms around the quad, then once he's handed over to us (coaching staff) we can assess him from a skills perspective.

"Until he's handed over from the medical team, then he's not on the table for selection (but) we feel as though that will happen pretty quickly.

"They (fast bowlers) do zero the day before (each Test) generally, so we can leave that (decision) to the day of the game in all honesty.

"We can assess him, give him potentially a light run the day before and then see how he pulls up on the day of the game.

"So we can leave it right up to the toss (on Thursday afternoon) if we want.

"He's our captain, we're going to give him every chance to get out there."

McDonald acknowledged Victoria seamer Scott Boland looms as an obvious replacement for Cummins should he be ruled out, given he was part of the initial 13-man squad chosen for the West Indies series and boasts a remarkable return of 18 Test wickets at 9.55 since debuting in last summer's Ashes campaign.

However, McDonald also noted Australia were forced to make two changes to their pace bowling attack for last year's pink ball Test in Adelaide, with Josh Hazlewood suffering a side strain and Cummins ruled out on the morning of the match having been caught in a COVID-19 scare.

To cover those absences, the selectors opted for the raw speed of Jhye Richardson and the control of Neser, which explains the rationale for the selection additions revealed today.

McDonald said the transition to pink-ball cricket, with Neser the only squad member to have experienced the format this summer as part of the PM's XI that tackled West Indies in Canberra last month, will also be a factor in finalising Australia's starting XI.

"Bowling last (in Perth) and a short turnaround puts stress and strain on your bowling stocks," he said. "We feel like two players coming in gives us coverage depending on which way we want to balance the attack, and with considerations given to the fact that it's pink ball."

He also played down the potential problems of switching from red-ball cricket to a day-night game, even though the latter format is no longer played at domestic level and the Australia players only regular exposure to it comes with the annual Adelaide Test.

"We're used to it now, you have a short turnaround from white-ball into red ball (matches), then you go from a red-ball Test match into a pink-ball Test match – it's really the norm," McDonald said.

"We can't really get pink balls out heading out into a red-ball (match), and you can't really get red balls out leading into a white-ball (series), so you feel as though you're a fraction behind.

"But once you have that main (training) session you feel as though it settles down again.

"Everyone will get used to the tempo, the pink ball will swing differently under lights and we've got our first session under lights (tomorrow) so we'll expose our players to that to get an understanding of it.

"Probably catching is the big point of difference in that transition period (between daylight and floodlights).

"You see a lot of balls go down (during that period), so fielding will be a heavy investment under lights in that transition period when we get to Adelaide."

Of perhaps greater consequence is a more fundamental shift than simply switching from red ball to pink, with McDonald noting the changing nature of Test match pitches in Australia and beyond.

As his bowlers toiled for more than 110 overs to claim the 10 West Indies wickets needed for victory yesterday, the lack of deterioration in the Perth Stadium playing surface became a talking point.

When Cummins fronted reporters for his post-match media conference, he visibly winced in seeing vision from the ongoing Pakistan-England Test at Rawalpindi, a venue where just 14 wickets fell across five tortuous days when Australia toured there earlier this year.

Even the pitch for Adelaide's now traditional pink-ball Test has mellowed over recent summers, with the first two day-night fixtures played on a thick mat of grass finishing inside four days while last year's Ashes Test went down to the final hours on day five as England's lower-order battled bravely.

"We use the term that they're trending backwards," McDonald said of the discernible change in Australia Test pitches. "They're actually getting better to bat on deeper in games.

"We've seen at the Gabba, day four and five is really good to bat, the MCG is potentially the same and this one here (in Perth) didn't deteriorate as much as we thought.

"If the wicket doesn't deteriorate, then you're going to be up against it, it's going to be hard work (for bowlers) in the last innings.

"You're hoping you're putting enough pressure on with the bat, so that you've got enough runs and you can be a bit more creative.

"We saw our team bounce in and out of plans at certain times, and I think the amount of runs you put on the board allows Nathan Lyon to go to work and lock in from one end.

"We've seen how good he is over time, and you give him a total like that (Australia's 498-run lead in Perth) and you give him enough time, he's able to do his work like he did here.

"But the wickets are flat at the back end of games, and we're seeing that all around the world.

"You think you're in a strong position, then the wicket flattens out and it's a lot of hard work.

"I think the ground staff have gotten excellent at growing grass and keeping wickets together.

"Maybe the fact we're playing less and less cricket on the main venues also means there's less deterioration potentially.

"There's probably a bigger conversation around how much use of the main venues there is around Australia, to create some imperfections.

"That's what we're talking about here – when you get some imperfections, the wicket can allow the game to accelerate at the back end."

Men's NRMA Insurance Test Series v West Indies

First Test: Australia won by 164 runs

Dec 8-12: Second Test, Adelaide Oval, 3pm AEDT (day-night)

Australia squad: Pat Cummins (c), Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Cameron Green, Marcus Harris, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, David Warner

West Indies squad: Kraigg Brathwaite (c), Jermaine Blackwood, Nkrumah Bonner, Shamarh Brooks, Tagenarine Chanderpaul, Roston Chase, Joshua Da Silva, Jason Holder, Alzarri Joseph, Kyle Mayers, Marquino Mindley, Anderson Phillip, Kemar Roach, Jayden Seales, Devon Thomas

Buy #AUSvWI Test tickets here