Australia captain Pat Cummins has defended the move of not playing any warm-up matches ahead of the World Test Championship final and Ashes, citing the nature of the hectic schedule, which leaves them with no time for playing practice games.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Australia adopted a no tour match policy since their tour of Pakistan last year, and is being continued for their all-important trip in England which features a WTC final against India at The Oval from June 7-11 and is quickly followed by the Ashes from June 16-July 31.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
"It's the nature of the schedule. But we feel really good. We've had a good prep up in Brisbane for a few days. It's a pretty busy couple of months coming up and six Tests in two months is really hectic. You'd rather be fresh at the end of it than worn out. We've got a pretty experienced squad and have all played in England before, so we'll be as ready as we'll ever be," Cummins was quoted as saying by The Sydney Morning Herald.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Cummins prepped for the tour of England through attending pre-season training at New South Wales' Cricket Central since April with fellow quicks Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood before going to a pre-tour camp at the Centre of Excellence in Brisbane, followed by more preparation at Beckham, Kent's second county ground, in England.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
With Australia not playing any warm-up game has invited criticism from many, including former captain Allan Border, veteran left-handed opener David Warner feels tour matches could become 'a waste of time', as conditions for such games are completely different from the ones seen in a Test match.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
"We're playing so much cricket these days with so many people coming off different kinds of cricket or no cricket and getting their workloads up in their own way under supervision. I think when you've played a long time, another warm-up game isn't going to get you ready," said Cummins.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
"Why wouldn't we just have a four-day session against our bowlers, and they can bowl the whole day and I can bat against the best bowlers in the world. It just makes sense.<\/p>\r\n\r\n