Pat Cummins will miss the first Ashes Test and could end up sitting out the whole series as Australia continue to sweat over the fitness of their captain.
The Aussie fast bowler has been sidelined with a back stress problem and has not played since the Test series against West Indies in July.
The Sydney Morning Herald, citing sources, reported that Cummins has had a scan on the issue, which, despite showing improvement, has not healed enough for him to be available for the opening Ashes contest, hosted in Perth on 21 November.
That has not been confirmed by Cricket Australia but there are now fears Cummins may not be able to feature in any of the five Tests, with the best-case scenario being described as a return towards the back-end of the series.
It acts as a potentially gutting setback for Cummins, who last month expressed confidence that he would be able to overcome this problem in time to play a significant part in the series.
In his absence, Steve Smith would be expected to captain the side, while Scott Boland is Cummins’ likely replacement in the bowling attack.
But his loss would be a major blow to Australia’s hopes of winning the series, with the 32-year-old the leading wicket-taker with 21 when England last travelled to the country four years ago.
England have not won a Test on Australian soil since 2011, but the news acts as a boost to their chances, hoping to snatch the Ashes urn that Australia have held since 2018.
Yet despite this, England legend Stuart Broad hopes the opposition skipper is fit to play, in keeping with the true spirit of the Ashes.
“I really hope he is fit,” Broad said. “Ashes cricket is the best against the best. Although him missing means England’s chances of winning go up hugely, we want to see Pat play. This is a huge story leading into the Ashes.”
Additional reporting from PA
