Cummins diagnosed with back issue, but stress fracture ruled out after a scan revealed ‘lumbar bone stress’.
Cummins Ashes build-up compromised due to back issue but cleared of stress fracture.
A diagnostic of Pat Cummins’ lower back showed lumbar bone stress, which has hindered his Ashes preparation and prevented him from playing in the three white-ball matches against India and New Zealand. There is a chance that he won’t play any cricket before the England series begins in Perth on November 21.
Australia’s Test and ODI skipper, Cummins, hasn’t played since the Caribbean Test trip, when his bowling workload was far lighter than normal. In keeping with last year’s strategy to give him a 10-week physical build-up to the Test season, he skipped the five Twenty20 Internationals against the West Indies and the two series against South Africa that followed.
However, after the Caribbean trip, Cummins had some back pain that persisted for a lot longer than anticipated. On Monday, a routine scan revealed bone stress, also called a hot spot, which can be a sign of a stress fracture. He has been cleared of any lower back fractures, though, and it is still believed that he will be able to play in the first Test match against England.
“There always was a de-load planned for him post that West Indies Test series, and then he’s just reported that he had a little bit of ongoing back soreness as part of that, and [the scan] just identified a little bit of lumbar bone stress,” chair of selectors George Bailey said. “I think the focus for him has and will continue to be just preparation for that [Ashes] Test series.
“So there’ll just be some further management and a little bit of rehab around that. But in terms of plan for the Ashes, I don’t think too much will change. There still feels like there’s plenty of time. But there’s full expectation that Pat will be right to go come the first Test.”
During the first six years of his international career, Cummins suffered from stress fractures, and between his 2011 debut and his second Test in India in 2017, he did not participate in any Test matches.
His overall bowling workload in 2025 have been far lower, so this back ailment will be a concern. Despite bowling more than 400 overs in all cricket in each of the previous three calendar years, he has only bowled 175.1 overs in the first nine months of 2025, including just 95.1 overs in the four Test matches against South Africa and the West Indies in June and July.