The Sparks host Northern Districts in Queenstown today and he has urged his side to play courageous cricket.
White Ferns all-rounder Hayley Jensen will join the side. She skipped the opening game against the Wellington Blaze to spend Christmas with her partner in Australia.
Chloe Deerness drops out of the 12 to make room for Jensen, who will bring some potency with the ball and bat.
"Hayley will always add to your team with the bat and ball and in the field," Cumming said.
"But we are strong enough to show more intent than [we did against Wellington].
The Sparks produced a disappointing chase against the Blaze on Saturday.
Suzie Bates peeled off some early boundaries. But she got denied the strike for a period and lost momentum.
The Sparks let too many overs drift by before shifting gear and ended up 20 runs short.
"We got off to a flyer in those first two overs and we were in front on the game. But we’ve got to find a way to be more proactive in those middle stages.
"There were far too many dot balls for us to keep the run rate under control.
"You’ve got to go out there and back yourself and play with freedom."
The Brave lost its opening game as well.
It was seemingly heading for victory at Bay Oval. Set 147 to win by Canterbury, Northern was 110 for one with more than five overs to bat.
But Kate Gurrey’s dismissal for 66 from 48 triggered a dramatic collapse. The Brave lost the next seven wickets for the addition of just 12 runs, and eventually lost by 14 runs.
"Somehow they managed to butcher that, but they are a good side.
"They played pretty well against us in the one-dayers ... and we’ll have to be on our game with the ball to restrict them."
The Sparks bowled pretty well against Wellington, but the last five overs were costly.
They conceded 31 runs which can happen. But that tipped the balance in favour of the Blaze.
Former Sparks player and Australian international Amanda-Jade Wellington has signed with the Brave and will be a handful.
The wrist spinner nabbed one for 17 from four overs in the loss to Canterbury.
She is also a dangerous ball-striker. But Gurrey is the form player in the line-up and she has good support in Bernadine Bezuidenhout, Sam Barriball and Eimear Richardson.
Super Smash
Queenstown, 11am
Otago: Suzie Bates (captain), Olivia Gain, Polly Inglis, Kate Ebrahim, Caitlin Blakely, Felicity Leydon-Davis, Hayley Jensen, Bella James, Eden Carson, Emma Black, Sophie Oldershaw, Molly Loe, Gemma Adams.
Northern Districts: Caitlin Gurrey, Bernadine Bezuidenhout, Sam Barriball, Nensi Patel, Eimear Richardson, Amanda-Jade Wellington, Lucy Boucher, Shriya Naidu, Kayley Knight, Holly Topp, Phoebe Graham, Tash Wakelin.
