Australia will be without their captain heading into the Ashes, with Pat Cummins today ruled out of the Perth Test in late November after a fresh round of scans revealed his back stress problem hasn’t healed.
Cummins had only recently said he was looking likely to play as much as possible, but is now instead facing missing all five Tests as he looks to overcome a stress “hot spot” that hasn’t been healing.
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While the 32-year-old may be right to return to training by mid to late December, that would mean his preseason stretches over the Melbourne and Sydney Tests and would basically mean any playtime he had would come while he’s half-boiled. Cricket Australia hasn’t shared a stance yet, but it’s very unlikely they’d throw Cummins in if he’s still recovering.
The Sporting Base understands Scott Boland will take on Cummins’ workload in the team alongside Josh Hazlewood and Mitchell Starc in the team’s quicks rotation. For the captaincy, Steve Smith is the most likely to step in.
It’s a bitter blow for the Aussies as they look to retain the Ashes, and keep England from winning the grudge-match series on Australian soil for the first time since way back in 2011. While Boland, Hazlewood, and Starc are a deadly fast-bowling cohort, Cummins is arguably the best quick in the world and will be missed for any Ashes Tests he doesn’t play.
For Cummins personally, it’s likely “devastating,” as he said last month.
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“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, Cummins said in Brisbane when asked if he’d be ready.
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“We’re trying to make sure we’re doing everything right to be right for Perth,” he continued.
“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 years; something was bound to happen, but hopefully I don’t miss too much.”
