admin
Australia Test captain Pat Cummins finally broke his silence regarding whether he is facing a race against time in order to be fit for the Ashes 2025 opener against England at the Optus Stadium in Perth. The pacer is currently recovering from a back injury. In September this year, it was revealed that the 32-year-old has a lumbar bone stress issue and keeping this in mind, he hasn’t bowled a ball since Australia’s last Test series against the West Indies in the Caribbean.
Speaking at Kayo Sports’ Summer of Cricket Launch in Sydney on Monday, Cummins all but confirmed that it is highly unlikely that he will play the Ashes opener, beginning November 21.
“I’d say probably less likely than likely. But we’ve still got a bit of time. I’m running today and running kind of every second day, and each run is a little bit longer, and then we get into bowling prep next week,” ESPNCricinfo quoted Cummins as saying.
“So I’m probably a couple of weeks away before actually putting on the spikes and bowling out on the turf. But it’s been a good couple of weeks. Each session feels better and better,” he added.
Last week, Australia head coach Andrew McDonald confirmed that the call on Cummins’ participation in the first Test would be determined on October 17. He also said that he’s confident that the skipper would play a part in the Ashes even if he’s to miss the opener.
‘I’m kind of annoyed’
The Australian captain, who won the World Test Championship in 2023, said that he is annoyed with the timing of the injury. Cummins has also been rested for the upcoming ODI and T20I series against India, beginning October 19.
“Some days I’m kind of annoyed because it’s the Ashes, and it’s a big summer and then other days I’m kind of realistic. I’ve had the last seven or eight years of almost uninterrupted home summers, so I felt like I’ve had a really good run as a fast bowler,” said Cummins.
The premier pacer also said that the injury would have no long-term impact and was confident that it would not affect him in the long term, given Australia has a huge period of cricket looming.
“It’s a back injury that I haven’t had for about seven or eight years, and I’ve played a lot of cricket between that,” he said.
“So if anything, looking back when I was, say, 20 years old and I had this injury, I was a bit worried about what my body could actually handle. But I know in myself that if I get it right, do it properly, when I come back, I shouldn’t have to worry about it all. And hopefully I can play as much, even more cricket than I had previously in the last few years,” he added.
