Pat Cummins opens up on Smith's excitement for new role ahead of West Indies tests

Pat Cummins, Steve Smith (pic: File Pic)

Ahead of the first test match against West Indies in Adelaide, Australia skipper Pat Cummins opened up about the excitement of Steve Smith and said that he can't wait to open for the home side. The skipper also mentioned that the new ball excites Steve Smith.

"He can't wait to get out there. Also think the new ball, maybe [there will be] a few more scoring options. It's something that excites him," Cummins said as quoted by ESPNcricinfo.

Australia's captain Pat Cummins also won the ICC Player of the Month award for December. India's Deepti Sharma won her first ICC Women's Player of the Month award for December.

Also read: ICC Player of the month award: Pat Cummins, Deepti Sharma win December honours

Following the retirement of Australia's star opening batsman David Warner, the void for the opening spot will be filled by Steve Smith. The Aussies all-rounder Cameron Green will bat at the number four position in the test series against the Carribeans starting from January 17 in Adelaide.

When asked about the other two contenders for the opener's spot Cameron Bancroft and Marcus Harris, Cummins replied that they remain firmly in test consideration for the Aussies.

"Obviously private phone calls, but no real surprises. We love what they both are doing in first-class cricket. We love what they bring to any side they're playing in. They're doing all the right things. Unfortunately, they both just missed out on this one. So [the] message was 'don't change'," he added.

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On Tuesday, January 16, Australia and West Indies named their playing XI for the first test match in Adelaide.

Squads:

Australia XI: Usman Khawaja, Steve Smith, Marnus Labuschagne, Cameron Green, Travis Head, Mitch Marsh, Alex Carey (Wk), Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins (C), Nathan Lyon, Josh Hazlewood.

West Indies XI: Kraigg Brathwaite (C), Tagenarine Chanderpaul, Kirk McKenzie, Alick Athanaze, Kavem Hodge, Justin Greaves, Joshua Da Silva (Wk), Gudakesh Motie, Alzarri Joseph, Shamar Joseph, Kemar Roach.

(With ANI Inputs)