Australia captain Pat Cummins wants to play international cricket for another five years but has already experienced one period of burnout which forced him to reassess the balance in his life.
The 30-year-old paceman played his first test as a teenager in South Africa in 2011 but did not play his second until six years later as he was nursed through a series of injuries. Once he did return to Australia’s colours, however, he quickly discovered the almost unrelenting demands on the top modern players.
“Cricket’s basically 12 months of the year,” he told former England footballer Rio Ferdinand on the Get Real with Rio vodcast.
“There’s always a cricket game going on somewhere, and I played non-stop for a year or two. This is about four or five years ago, I kind of just came back from injuries. “And I was just spent, like burnt out, and I just remember thinking, ‘Jeez, I’m 25 here but I want to do this until I’m 35. I’ve got to find a way to balance all these different things’.” Cummins’s last action came on Australia’s tour of India earlier this year, which he left early to return home to be with his terminally ill mother.
He said her death from breast cancer in March was still “pretty raw” but he was glad he had been able to spend time with her and his family at the end.
“I think it hits home the kind of person you want to be, the kind of father you want to be. So from that side, it’s been quite good. Lots of memories,” he said.
“But in terms of the grief I guess we’ll keep working through that.”
Next up for Cummins and Australia is the World Test Championship final against India in London next month followed quickly by the five-Test Ashes series against England.
Cummins said he is keen to work on things away from the cricket field. One of those passions outside of cricket has been Cricket for Climate, a foundation he helped set up to reduce the sport’s carbon footprint.
His involvement in the cause has prompted some criticism from right-wing commentators, telling him to “stick to cricket”, but the 29-year-old plans to remain actively involved.
“We’d (Cricket for Climate) love to go overseas, India, England, there’s so much scope for making a change in those places,” Cummins said. “I try to do my little bit to normalise the conversation and make a bit of difference to make his [son Albie] future a bit better. “I’d love to sit back in 10-20 years and just show the huge impact we’ve made.”
Boult still wants to play for New Zealand at World Cup
Seamer Trent Boult still wants to play for New Zealand at this year’s World Cup and Tests next year despite giving up his central contract to allow him to spend more time with his family.
The 33-year-old, who with Tim Southee has made up one of the world’s most feared pace attacks over the last decade, has not played international cricket since negotiating a “significantly reduced role” with the Black Caps in August.
“I’ve still got that big desire to play for New Zealand,” Boult told Cricinfo in Jaipur, where he is playing for the Rajasthan Royals in the Indian Premier League (IPL). “It is what it is: I’ve made my decision. I’ve been lucky enough to have a 13-year career in the Black Caps and hey, I’ve still got a big desire to play in the World Cup as well. It’s such a great tournament ... one hundred percent, I’ve got that desire to be out there.”
Boult was part of the squads that finished runners-up at the last two 50-overs World Cups and thought New Zealand would again be a force in India in October and November.
“We’re a great one-day side,” he added.
“We’ve got some players that have travelled to India and experienced the conditions a lot, and that’s what it comes down to in World Cups.”