According to the Sydney Morning Herald on Wednesday, Australian captain Pat Cummins may not be able to start the home Ashes series against England and may not be able to play the full five matches because the most recent scans showed that his back stress issue has not resolved.
Steve Smith might be the acting captain as Cummins, who was once hopeful of playing a big part of the series, looks to have no chance of participating in the series opener in Perth starting on November 21 and may perhaps miss all five Test matches.
Two people who are not authorized to comment publicly but who are aware of private conversations claim that Cummins had an update scan last week to monitor his health and was informed that the “hot spot” of the stress was still healing and that it would not be wise to bowl at this time.
It will be extremely difficult for him to speed up in time to play in a tightly scheduled Ashes series, and the update is likely to postpone his return to action until the final weeks of the year. Cricket Australia is yet to provide a statement.
The best-case scenario would see him return for the latter part of the series, with Scott Boland filling in as the third pacer alongside Josh Hazlewood and Mitchell Starc.
The Australians’ prospects of keeping the coveted Ashes urn, which they have owned since 2018, may suffer significantly from Cummins’ absence. If verified, this development will be a huge boost for England, who last won the Ashes on English soil in 2011.
When asked in Brisbane one month ago whether he may miss the start of the Ashes, Cummins responded, “That would be devastating.”
“We will be doing everything we can to be right for that, and make a few decisions a little bit closer, but I am confident we will do the rehab right and give it a good crack.”
“This far out, it is hard to know, but we are trying to make sure we are doing everything right to be right for Perth. It is a big Ashes series; it does not get much bigger, so you are willing to be aggressive and take a few risks to try to play as many of the Tests as you can.”
“I have had a really good run as fast bowling goes, and I have been really well looked after, which has got me through this many Tests. I have bowled a lot over the last few years; something was bound to happen at some point, but hopefully, I get this right and do not miss too much cricket,” he concluded.
