Cummins ready to play the long game in Pakistan

Pat Cummins has flagged the changed mindset his all-conquering Ashes squad will take into their next Test assignment, declaring a hard-fought draw will be valued as highly as a win over Pakistan in unfamiliar subcontinent conditions.

After a home summer in which Australia breezed past England in four of the five matches against their historic rivals, the new Test skipper is expecting a significantly tougher battle on his team's first tour to Pakistan in 24 years, which begins next week.

And while Cummins concedes he has little idea as to what sort of conditions and characteristics await his 18-man squad when they begin preparation for the opening Test at Rawalpindi, he is expecting the three Tests of the tour to run their full distance.

Australia's interim coach Andrew McDonald noted earlier this week that Pakistan like to play "the long game" in their home conditions, and Cummins is relishing the likelihood of getting involved in tactical and physical arm wrestles that extend for five days.

As a result, he has foreshadowed Australia will look to alter the Test blueprint they take into matches on familiar surfaces by potentially reducing the rate at which they score and through being prepared to "grind out" a draw or two rather than pushing relentlessly for victories.

That's not to say the current number-one ranked men's Test team won't be contemplating a three-nil sweep of Pakistan when they arrive in Islamabad this weekend, but rather their ambition will be tempered to reflect their environment.

"The most obvious one is to win the series," Cummins told reporters today when asked his goals and ambitions for Australia's first Test tour to Pakistan since 1998.

"But I think that might not necessarily look like two wins and one loss or whatever, it might be having to grind out some tough Test matches and hold out for a draw.

"A hard-fought, five-day grinding out for a draw in the context of a three-match series might be as good as a win.

"We don't really know what we're going to expect over there, but subcontinent Test matches can be played quickly or can be played slowly."

Australia won three, drew 10 and lost seven of the 20 Tests they played in Pakistan between 1956 and 1998.

While Cummins is just five Tests into his tenure as Australia captain having taken over from Tim Paine shortly before the start of the Vodafone Ashes, he boasts even less experience playing red-ball cricket on Asian pitches.

But he's seen enough in the four subcontinent Tests he's been part of – two in India and as many in Bangladesh, all of them in 2017 – to know how attritional the game can be in those conditions.

His first Test back after a six-year injury lay-off came on what he describes as "the flattest pitch ever" in Ranchi during Australia's most recent tour to India, where he sent down 39 overs in his team's only bowling innings of a dour draw from which he claimed 4-106.

Not only will the 28-year-old be required to quickly re-acquaint himself with the vastly different surfaces, he will carry the added burden of orchestrating bowling changes, fielding positions and other tactical measures during potentially long, hot days in the dirt.

It will present a marked contrast to the Ashes campaign in which England only managed to bat beyond 100 overs in three of their 10 innings, with a high watermark of 113 overs faced in their ultimately unsuccessful last-day defiance in the second Test at Adelaide, a game Cummins missed.

"I think I'll be able to manage," Cummins said of the likely need to marry physical endurance with leadership oversight.

"It's something I'll look at ... they might be long innings, but it's still 90 overs a day and I think that's totally manageable.

"This Test summer, a lot of Test matches only went three days.

"My first probably 15 to 20 Test matches I played, it felt like every one went for five days so I really like getting into the grind and I think that's going to be a challenge for our team, and one that hopefully we can embrace.

"That's just a reality of Test cricket.

"For a lot of this group, we haven't played a lot of cricket overseas so if we want to be number one in the world, we need to have a really good showing on these subcontinent tours, and that starts in Pakistan."

Australia might not have played Test cricket in Pakistan since the previous century, but their record in the format across all Asian venues (including the UAE, where Pakistan have hosted most of their 'home' series since then) is grim.

Since their historic – and as-yet unrepeated – series win in India in 2004, Australia have recorded five wins from 28 Tests, with three of those coming in Bangladesh (in 2006 and 2017).

And although the touring party remains unsure of what sort of surfaces await for the Tests in Rawalpindi, Karachi and Lahore, their pre-departure training in Melbourne focused heavily on bowling and batting against spin during today's final hit-out.

Cummins said while he anticipated spin and reverse swing would be influential factors in Pakistan, the squad had not engaged in specific drills to instill defensive capabilities into their batting and bowling even though he had foreshadowed the need for them to be ready for "grinding out".

"The reality is every Test you try to get ready for the long game, I think it's as much a mental thing as physical training," he said.

"Obviously us bowlers getting ready for the Test matches, we've had some really long spells in the nets so we're used to it.

"But I think it's that mindset of being okay with ticking along at two runs an over, whereas here you might be used to three or four runs an over.

"It throws up a different challenge to cricket we've grown up playing here in Australia, and watching.

"There's probably going to be times when I have to be more creative and try a few different things, be brave, so I'm excited for that challenge."

Qantas Tour of Pakistan 2022

Pakistan squad: Babar Azam (c), Mohammad Rizwan, Abdullah Shafique, Azhar Ali, Faheem Ashraf, Fawad Alam, Haris Rauf, Hasan Ali, Imam-ul-Haq, Nauman Ali, Sajid Khan, Saud Shakeel, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Shan Masood, Zahid Mahmood. Reserves: Naseem Shah, Sarfaraz Ahmed

Australia Test squad: Pat Cummins (c), Ashton Agar, Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Cameron Green, Marcus Harris, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Mitchell Marsh, Steve Smith (vc), Mitchell Starc, Mark Steketee, Mitchell Swepson, David Warner. On standby: Sean Abbott, Brendan Doggett, Nic Maddinson, Matthew Renshaw

March 4-8: First Test, Rawalpindi

March 12-16: Second Test, Karachi

March 21-25: Third Test, Lahore

Australia ODI and T20 squad: Aaron Finch (c), Sean Abbott, Ashton Agar, Jason Behrendorff, Alex Carey, Nathan Ellis, Cameron Green, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Marnus Labuschagne, Mitchell Marsh, Ben McDermott, Kane Richardson, Steve Smith, Marcus Stoinis, Adam Zampa

March 29: First ODI, Rawalpindi

March 31: Second ODI, Rawalpindi

April 2: Third ODI, Rawalpindi

April 5: Only T20I, Rawalpindi

All matches to be broadcast in Australia on Fox Cricket and Kayo Sports