Fast bowlers need variety in ‘tired’ pitches, says Cummins

Fast bowlers will need a varied skillset to conquer the "tired" pitches in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Australia's Pat Cummins said ahead of their Twenty20 World Cup opener against South Africa on Saturday.

The pacers would be a worried lot heading into the World Cup looking for ways to master the dry and slow pitches in the UAE which has split warm-up matches with Oman but hosts the rest of the tournament from Saturday.

The UAE also hosted the second leg of the Indian Premier League (IPL) which concluded on Friday, meaning fast bowlers face the prospect of toiling on wornout pitches in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Sharjah.

"A couple of wickets have been tired and a couple times you get some really good wickets," Cummins told a virtual news conference on Thursday sharing his warm-up match experience.

"In Twenty20, you got to have a few different varieties. Bowling with a new ball up front is going to look quite different to how you bowl in the end.

"So you've got to be able to adapt and have two or three different spells within the 20 overs..."