Cummins ready to renew Rabada rivalry

Australia quick Pat Cummins has declared himself fit and raring to go for next month's Gillette ODI Series where he's set to once again lock horns with Proteas pace rival Kagiso Rabada.

Cummins made a successful comeback from a back injury in the JLT One-Day Cup earlier this month but had a sterner examination of his fitness levels in a four-day Toyota Futures League clash with NSW Metro this week in Blacktown.

The 25-year-old sent down 22 overs in the match against Tasmania for combined figures of 3-63, while his Blues and national teammate Josh Hazlewood shared the new ball with him and delivered 22 overs of his own.

Cummins is uncertain whether he and Hazlewood will play another match before the opening ODI in Perth on November 4 – possibly another Second XI or Premier Cricket game – but he's thrilled with what he achieved across four days in Sydney's west.

"We (he and Hazlewood) bowled five or six different spells and spent a lot of time in the field and felt like we were pretty much up to 100 per cent," Cummins told cricket.com.au today.

"The body felt great so they were the main things. We got out of it exactly what we wanted.

"Now I've played a few (games) I feel absolutely fine and that's the best sign your body is ready to start playing some more cricket.

"My rhythm felt really good and I'm really happy with how it all came together.

"I bowled a couple of quick overs and feel like I'm totally ready to start getting fully back into everything."

Should Cricket Australia's medical staff be satisfied with Cummins' conditioning, his next match will likely be against the Proteas at Perth Stadium.

The match will be the first time the two nations have played since the infamous Test series in South Africa this year, when Rabada and Cummins went toe to toe as the series' leading wicket-takers.

Rabada finished with 23 wickets, just one more than Cummins, and the Australian is looking forward to matching up again against his pace contemporary.

"You always want to get one up on each other, but really you're just worried about what you're doing," said Cummins, who played alongside Rabada at the Delhi Daredevils in the IPL.

“He's set the standard the last couple of years in fast bowling. You always pick up things watching the best do their stuff.

"We're a similar age, similar bowling styles in that we're trying to be attacking, bowl fast and aim to take those big wickets."

Alongside Rabada will be living legend Dale Steyn, who is back in South Africa's one-day fold and fresh off taking five wickets in two ODIs against Zimbabwe on home soil.

It's another contest Cummins can't wait to be a part of.

"If Rabada's been setting the standard the last couple of years then Steyn was setting the standard for fast bowling half a dozen years before that," Cummins said.

"He's someone who always gets themselves in the game, he always the strike weapon, up for every game, he bowls fast, takes big wickets and is so competitive.

"It's great to see him back. He's had a couple of serious injuries but to get himself back and be a star performer again is great for the game.

"He's someone you have to turn on the TV and watch when he's bowling."