Pat Cummins , the Australian captain, has revealed that he is “on track” to play for the national team in the second Ashes Test of the five-match series against England in Brisbane from December 4 onwards.
The 32-year-old is currently recovering from a back injury sustained following the Test series against West Indies in the Caribbean in July and since then, he hasn’t played any professional cricket.
Notably, the Australian selectors picked a 15-member squad for the first Ashes Test at the Optus Stadium in Perth, starting on November 21 without Pat Cummins, giving him more time to recover from his injury and handing the captaincy reins to Steve Smith. As part of his recovery, the Australian pacer has started to bowl with a reduced run-up with an eye on playing at the Gabba in the second Test of the Ashes - a day night contest - next month.
In one of his latest interviews, Pat Cummins was quoted as saying about his road to full recovery, as per BBC Sport, “It's all feeling really good. On track and yeah, probably better than I expected. Each session is incremental. Once I get over to Perth, I should be pretty close to a full run-up and getting some overs in.” The stalwart has 91 wickets in 19 Test matches against England in the Ashes at an average of 24.10.
Scott Boland is expected to take Pat Cummins' spot in Australian playing XI
The absence of Pat Cummins from the first Test in Perth will open up a spot for Scott Boland to feature in the playing XI for Australia after he tormented England in the last Ashes series at home, especially in Melbourne four years ago. Moreover, the Australian captain also said, “It's probably not until you get a bit closer that you can really know where you're at. The good thing is that I'm pulling up well and the body is great.”
“We're trying to keep that second Test as a live option. I'll have a really good bowl in Perth, and by then I'll know where I'm at,” he added.
Australia’s squad for first Ashes Test: Steve Smith (c), Sean Abbott, Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Brendan Doggett, Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Mitchell Starc, Jake Weatherald, Beau Webster
