Australia captain Pat Cummins is likely to miss the beginning of the Ashes and could be sidelined for the entire series after fresh scans confirmed his back stress injury has not fully healed. Cummins, who had earlier expressed optimism about featuring in a major part of the series, has been ruled out of the opening Test in Perth starting November 21.
There’s also a strong possibility he could miss all five matches, with Steve Smith expected to take over as stand-in captain against Ben Stokes’ England. Sources familiar with the matter revealed that the 32-year-old underwent a follow-up scan last week to assess his recovery ahead of the home Test summer.
The results showed that while the stress “hot spot” in his back was improving, it hadn’t healed sufficiently for him to resume bowling. This development is expected to delay his comeback until the final weeks of the year, making it difficult for him to regain match fitness in time for the tightly packed Ashes schedule.
Cricket Australia has not issued any official statement regarding the situation. In the best-case scenario, Cummins might return for the latter part of the series, similar to how Scott Boland has strengthened Australia’s pace attack in recent seasons.
Cummins’ Injury Opens Door For Boland In Perth Test
Boland is now expected to be the third seamer in Perth, supporting Josh Hazlewood and Mitchell Starc. Cummins’ absence due to the back injury is a significant setback for Australia’s hopes of retaining the Ashes urn, which they have held since 2018.
England, who haven’t won a Test match in Australia since 2011, will receive a major boost from the news that they won’t have to face Australia’s premier fast bowler and captain.
“That would be devastating,” Pat Cummins said in Brisbane a month ago when asked if there was a possibility he would miss the start of the Ashes. “We’ll be doing everything we can to be right for that, [and] make a few decisions a little bit closer, but [I’m] confident we’ll do the rehab right and give it a good crack.”
“This far out it’s hard to know, but we’re trying to make sure we’re doing everything right to be right for Perth. It’s a big Ashes series, [it] doesn’t get much bigger, so you’re willing to be aggressive and take a few risks to try to play as much of the Tests as you can.”
“I’ve had a really good run as fast bowling goes, and I’ve been really well looked after, which has got me through this many Tests. I’ve bowled a lot over the last few years, something was bound to happen at some point, but hopefully get this right and don’t miss too much cricket.”
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