Perth test unlikely for Pat Cummins as he admits he won’t be able to prove his fitness before the first Ashes Test.
Cummins says he’s ‘less likely than likely’ to play in the first Ashes Test at Perth.
With fewer than six weeks till the start of the series in Perth, Australia skipper Pat Cummins believes he is “less likely than likely” to play in the opening Test match against England as he starts running for the first time since suffering a back injury.
Since it was discovered in early September that Cummins has a lumbar bone stress condition, his back has been the subject of nearly daily conversation in Australia. Since Australia’s most recent Test series in the Caribbean in July, he has not bowled a ball.
“I’d say probably less likely than likely,” Cummins said. “But we’ve still got a bit of time.
“I’m running today and running kind of every second day, and each runs a little bit longer, and then we get into bowling prep next week. 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.”
Cummins was asked how long he would actually need to prepare his body to play in a Test match.
“You’d want probably at least a month in the nets,” he said. “If you are to play in a Test match, you want to make sure you are right to bowl 20 overs in a day and you don’t have to think about it. Four weeks is pretty tight, but I think somewhere around that mark.”
“It’s kind of a little bit stiff, just probably a little bit from the injury but then also because it hasn’t been used for a while,” Cummins said. “Each session you do a little bit of run and make sure you pull up alright. So I’m actually feeling really good at the moment. A few of the symptoms hung around for a little bit longer than I would have liked but they’re all gone now. I’m just trying to kind of increase the workload and make sure body’s responding.
“Some of the gym work becomes a bit more bowling prep work. So you do a lot more kind of getting your muscles ready, side holds to try to simulate that. Maybe some med ball work, but trying to kind of transition before you actually go into the nets and start bowling.”