Cummins' message to those underestimating Australia

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Australian captain Pat Cummins has shared his thoughts on the upcoming Test series against South Africa, responding to criticism about the squad.

Much has been of the state of Australian cricket this week with some of the selection calls drawing the ire of former players.

But Cummins believes the narrative doesn’t do justice to the side that currently sits atop the World Test Championship table.

SEN Cricket's Gerard Whateley asked the captain whether he felt his side was being underestimated.

"Do you feel at all underestimated that there's a a degree of uncertainty around this Australian Test team at the moment?" Whateley asked.

Cummins responded: “We are number one in the world, and I think we're well and truly top of the World Test Championship points, so that's our message to the group. We should be very confident.

“We've got an experienced group who have performed well, and I actually don't think we've played near our best which is exciting.

“I think the problems at the moment are a little bit smaller than they could be because we have been going so well.”

This is also the first time Australia have returned to South Africa for a Test series since the infamous ‘Sandpapergate’.

The Aussie captain isn’t concerned about the crowds though and is looking forward to the challenge.

“We just had the 31 days here (for the ODI series) and must say the crowds were fantastic,” Cummins said.

“It's been a super welcoming crowd and just the people around that you meet around the hotel and the streets.

“Wouldn't be surprised if there's a bit of noise and a few barbs flying around, but so far it's been awesome.”

As for the actual incident itself, Cummins says the playing group hasn’t even given it a thought.

“It was a long time ago,” Cummins said.

“There was a few of us that were there, but most of the group had nothing to do with that tour.

“I think as a group we've shown a pretty good history of moving on…whether it's a big Ashes series and getting on with the job that's next.

“So there’s a little bit of chat and obviously you’ve got to look after each other. I think on this tour maybe more than other times when crowd members are getting fiery.

“But as a rule, the guys just move on pretty quickly.”

It’s all to play for in the upcoming series with plenty on the line for Cummins and his side.

Listen to every ball of SEN’s coverage of the First Test between South Africa and Australia with Gerard Whateley, Simon Katich and the team live from Durban tonight on SEN. First ball 6:30pm AEDT. Sync the call to your TV using SEN Sync – only on the SEN app. SEN – your home of cricket.