Six years after his baggy green debut, Australian quick Pat Cummins wants to make up for lost time in his first home Test series and take over Mitchell Johnson's Ashes enforcer role.
The injury-plagued speedster said he was in career-best shape and raring to intimidate England in the upcoming Ashes - much like Johnson back in 2013.
In the last home Ashes series, fiery left-arm quick Johnson terrorised England to claim 37 wickets and help seal Australia's 5-0 whitewash.
It's a hard act to follow.
But after years of watching home series from the sidelines nursing what seemed like an endless run of injuries, Cummins is finally primed for the Ashes in Australia starting at the Gabba on November 23.
"We saw what Mitchell Johnson did last Ashes series here - it would be a role I would love to play," said Cummins.
"As a fast bowler, it's (about) getting in their face and being relentless in everything we do.
"I just can't wait to get out there.
"As a kid growing up, you watch a lot of Test cricket on TV.
"To be in that position where I might play in one, I'm pumped."
The thought of a fired up Cummins steaming in with Josh Hazlewood and Mitchell Starc for the first time together in a Test attack in Australia is enough to strike fear in any rival's heart.
For the record England captain Joe Root said they were not afraid of the Test trio despite Cummins' tough talk.
"These are the sort of statements you expect coming from Australia a week out from the Ashes series," Root said.
"I'm not sure fear is a word floating around our dressing room - I think respect is the right word."
Cummins burst onto the international scene at 18 in Australia's second Test win in South Africa in November 2011.
Injuries - largely back stress fractures - ensured he didn't play another Test until March this year.
Cummins said his long battle back would make the first home Test all the more special.
"It certainly felt a long way away, for a while," he said of playing a home Test.
"I was pretty young when I first started playing.
"It all happened really quickly and didn't give me a chance to stand back and realise what I was actually doing.
"Having those five or six years (on the sidelines) ... I think it will mean a bit more when I go out there."
Cummins, Starc, Hazlewood and Jackson Bird have been rested for this week's Sheffield Shield action to be primed for the Ashes.
But Cummins admitted he was still unsure whether he could get through a five-Test series.
He played back-to-back Tests for the first time in Bangladesh in August.
"I feel like I'm in the best position I can be but we'll have to wait and see - there's no guarantees," he said.
