Nathan Ellis aims to make it 'big 4' as he looks to cement spot in Australia XI in Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc's absence

Ahead of the upcoming series against Scotland and England, Australia fast-bowler Nathan Ellis has said he is looking to become a mainstay of the bowling attack.

Australia are scheduled to play three T20Is against Scotland before playing 3 T20Is and 5 ODIs against England. Pat Cummins has been rested for the entire tour as a part of the workload management while Mitchell Starc has been rested for the T20Is. As a result, Nathan Ellis is set to play a key role with the ball on the tour.

And with both Cummins and Starc unavailable, he is looking to make the opportunity count in order to become a regular in the Australian white-ball attack. The right-arm pacer said that while he is not looking to replace any of the bowlers, he wishes to transform the big three into the big four. Starc, Cummins, and Josh Hazlewood have been the big three of Australia's attack for years now.

"It’s a tricky one for me because these are guys that I’ve looked up to for a long time coming through as a kid," Ellis told cricket.com.au.

"Now I’m at the point where I want to compete and be a part of that group – they’re the big three, hopefully, I can make it to the big four."

Nathan Ellis on getting limited chances in the T20 World Cup:

Nathan Ellis also spoke about not being able to play regularly during the T20 World Cup last month. Of the 7 games that Australia played in the competition, he managed to get a chance in only 3 of them. He played against Oman, Namibia, and Scotland but not against England in the group stage.

In the Super 8 stage, Ellis did not play any of the 3 games as Australia lost 2 of them and failed to make the cut for the semifinal. Recalling his campaign in the T20 World Cup, Ellis said that he was well aware of his place in the pecking order although he stated that he needs to change his mentality in order to become a regular in the playing eleven.

"It’s an honour to play alongside those guys and I just try and take what I can from all of their preparations and how they go about it.

"They’ve been so good for so long, so I went into the World Cup under no illusions as to where I stood in the pecking order. Maybe that’s a mentality I should try and change but they’ve been such great servants for our country and with that comes a lot of credits," he said.

"I love playing for Australia and it’s something that I don’t take for granted and I never will, so I’m hoping that I’ll become a bit of a mainstay but to do that, I’ve got to play some good cricket," added Ellis.

Meanwhile, the T20I series between Australia and Scotland is scheduled to begin on September 4. On the other hand, the series between Australia and England will begin on September 11.