The fitness of Australia captain Pat Cummins is making significant headlines with just six weeks to go until the Ashes begins.
England travel Down Under for the series opener that gets underway in Perth on November 21, looking to wrestle back the famous urn after the drawn series on home soil in 2023 that saw their rivals retain it following a 4-0 thrashing in 2021/22.
The tourists’ chances of striking an early blow looked to have been boosted by reports in Australia on Wednesday that claimed that Cummins will miss the First Test and could potentially even be sidelined for the entire series through injury.
The experienced fast bowler has not played since Australia’s Third Test win over the West Indies in Kingston in July due to a stress issue in his back.
A recent scan is said to have revealed that the problem has yet to fully heal despite showing improvement, leading to reports that he will sit out the Ashes opener against England at Optus Stadium next month.
More worryingly for Australia, it has also been claimed that Cummins is at risk of possibly sitting out the whole series, which includes the Second Test coming at The Gabba in Brisbane between December 4-8.
The teams then move onto the Adelaide Oval for the Third Test between December 17-21, ahead of the Boxing Day Test in Melbourne from December 26-31 and the series finale in Sydney from January 3-8.
However, there has been no official update from Cricket Australia on Cummins’ status and the player is said to be “surprised” by the bombshell reports that emerged on Wednesday.
"Speaking to Pat today, he is still optimistic of playing a key role in this Ashes series," wrote former Australia star and coach Justin Langer in a column for Perth newspaper The West Australian.
"Australian cricket has spent millions of dollars researching stress fractures in fast bowlers and team management will therefore follow elite rehabilitation processes to get the captain back on the park.
"In his mind, nothing has changed since he was first diagnosed following Australia’s Test tour to the West Indies in July.
"He, like other close observers of the captain’s progress, was surprised by today’s headlines that he might be out of the whole series.
"He remains optimistic and will do everything possible to be ready."
