Pat Cummins is prepared to “take a few risks” and be “aggressive” in his recovery from a back injury to lead Australia in this winter’s Ashes series.
Australia’s captain will be absent for their upcoming white-ball series against New Zealand and India because of lumbar bone stress, a common injury among fast bowlers with intense workloads.
Cummins remains upbeat about being able to take to the field in the first Test against England, starting on November 21 in Perth, and he says he will do everything in his remit to avoid missing out.
“That would be devastating (to be sidelined for the series opener), so we’ll be doing everything we can to try to be right for that,” Cummins told reporters in Brisbane on Wednesday.
“It’s a big Ashes series. It doesn’t get much bigger, so I think you’re willing to take a few risks and be a little bit aggressive to try and play as many Tests as you can.
“It’s (nearly) 12 weeks until the first Test, it feels a long way away, so we’ve got plenty of time.”
Cummins reported feeling soreness following Australia’s 3-0 Test series win in the West Indies in July, when he bowled 60 overs in three weeks, and he has been restricted to light gym work since then.
- 1st Test: Perth - November 21-25
- 2nd Test: Brisbane (D/N) - December 4-8
- 3rd Test: Adelaide - December 17-21
- 4th Test: Melbourne - December 26-30
- 5th Test: Sydney - January 4-8
The early part of his career was blighted by back problems, but Cummins has gone on to prove himself as one of the finest pacemen of his generation with 309 wickets in 71 Tests at an average of 22.1.
As such, the 32-year-old is confident he does not necessarily need match practice to be firing on all cylinders to face Ben Stokes’ England in a much-anticipated five-Test series.
“At this stage of my career I feel like I can probably get up to speed a bit quicker than when I was 18 or 19,” Cummins added.
“Back then you probably feel like you need to play a few (Sheffield) Shield games or one-dayers. I’m pretty confident even if I don’t get a chance to play a Shield game, I’ll can get up to speed.”
