Australia will be without captain Pat Cummins for the first Ashes Test against England, as the fast bowler continues to recover from a back injury.
The opening Test begins on November 21 in Perth, with Steven Smith appointed stand-in captain for the series opener.
According to ESPNcricinfo, Cummins, who suffered a lumbar stress injury in September, has not bowled in recent weeks and was unable to recover in time.
However, the star pacer is expected to resume bowling this week and is aiming to return for the second Test in Brisbane starting December 4.
Head coach Andrew McDonald confirmed that Cummins simply ran out of recovery time despite signs of progress.
“We’ve run out of time,” McDonald said in Canberra.
“We sort of flagged this a week or so ago that it would take sort of four plus weeks to get him up and running and we’ve run out of time, unfortunately, but really optimistic and hopeful for the second Test match,” he added.
He further added that Cummins will begin bowling again soon, which will determine the next steps in his rehabilitation.
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“He’ll be back bowling this week and that’s a huge step. That was the big variable that we wanted to add in and get that information. So we’re on the journey to that second Test and very hopeful that that will be a positive outcome,” he stated.
McDonald stressed that the medical team will decide how quickly Cummins can return.
“With the nature of this injury, it’s never going to be a clear time frame and I think that’s what everyone here today wants is a time frame to say, this is definitely what will happen. We’re not in a position to do that and I’d never put the medical team under that sort of duress either,” he added.
Smith has captained Australia several times in Cummins’ absence, winning five out of six Tests since 2021, including a match in the 2021–22 Ashes when Cummins missed the Adelaide Test due to Covid protocols.
Meanwhile, Cummins’ unavailability opens the door for Scott Boland, who is expected to feature in Perth after his recent hat-trick against the West Indies.
“Losing your captain’s not ideal, but when you talk about Scott Boland being the potential replacement, it’s not a bad position to be in,” McDonald said.
“Ideally we want the captain available for stability and decision making but…Steve Smith will slide into that position,” he further stated.
Despite missing the first Test, Cummins will still travel with the squad and remain part of team preparations.
Australia’s squad for the Perth Test will be finalised next week after the latest round of Sheffield Shield fixtures.
