Australia’s captain Pat Cummins has been officially ruled out of the first Ashes Test due to his back stress injury, with Steve Smith to lead the side in Perth.
Cummins has resumed running but is yet to return to the bowling crease after pulling up sore on the Test tour of the Caribbean in July.
Pat Cummins is out of the first Ashes Test.Credit: ICC via Getty Images
Head coach Andrew McDonald said on Monday that he was expecting Cummins to resume bowling this week. The selectors are hopeful that he may be available for the second Test of the series, a day/night game in Brisbane that starts on December 4, five and a half weeks from now.
“We’ve grappled with it for a little while,” McDonald said in Canberra. “We’ve run out of time [for Perth] unfortunately, but we’re optimistic about the second Test match. What’s the timeframe? Not really able to answer that other than to say he’ll be back bowling this week, and that’s a huge step.
“Losing your captain is not ideal, but when you talk about Scott Boland being the potential replacement, it’s not a bad position to be in. Ideally you want the captain available.”
The skipper was asked two weeks ago about his back injury and said he would normally want a month of bowling to be right for a Test.
Cummins training last week. He is fighting a lower-back injury that could derail his Ashes campaign.Credit: Getty Images
“You want at least a month in the nets getting used to it,” Cummins said. “If you’re going to play a Test match you want to make sure you’re right to bowl 20 overs a day and you don’t have to really think about it. Four weeks is pretty tight, but somewhere around that mark.”
Cummins has been running most days at Cricket NSW headquarters at Sydney Olympic Park as he works to get his body right. For now, there is no firm date on when he’ll resume bowling.
