Australian Team Visits World War I Memorial Site Ahead Of World Cup 2019

Australia took inspiration from a World War I memorial site visit at the Gallipoli in Turkey, ahead of their title defence in the World Cup 2019. Inspired by their emotional pilgrimage to a site where 11,000 Australian and New Zealand soldiers lost their lives during an Allied military offensive, team vice-captain Pat Cummins said that his side are ready to "punch above their weight" when required in the quadrennial showpiece, which will get underway from May 30.

"When you hear some of the stories (of Australians fighting at Gallipoli), a lot of them aren't necessarily best mates, but you know they've got each other's back when the going gets tough," Cummins was quoted as saying by cricket.com.au.

"Just sticking it out, punching above their weight, doing all those things - no doubt there's going to be times during the World Cup when we're going to be up against it," Cummins, who is a vice-captain alongside Travis Head added.

The trip, planned by head coach Justin Langer, gave the Australian squad a mental boost ahead of the marquee tournament and Pat Cummins said his side are excited to start training and play the warm-up games.

"Now it's here, we're just excited to get out there, train, play a couple of warm-up games. It's only a couple of weeks away so we're all pumped, it's all we talk about, the games," Cummins said.

"We can't wait to get it started," he added.

Australia, the most successful team in the World Cup history with five titles, will be vying for a sixth trophy, when the tournament commences in about a fortnight.

Topics mentioned in this article

Australia Cricket Team Pat Cummins Travis Head World Cup 2019 Cricket