Australia captain Pat Cummins has made a cautious return to bowling as he steps up his bid to play in the upcoming Ashes series against England.
Cummins bowled off a five-step run-up during a brief net session in Sydney on Wednesday, marking his first bowling appearance since being diagnosed with a lumbar stress injury in September. The session took place at Cricket New South Wales’ Silverwater headquarters under the supervision of renowned physio Patrick Farhart and strength and conditioning coach Dean McNamara.
The fast bowler has already been ruled out of the first Ashes Test, which begins on 21 November in Perth. However, he is targeting a return in the middle stages of the five-match series, with the second Test set for 4 December in Brisbane and the third for 17 December in Adelaide.
Cummins last played in mid-July during Australia’s Test tour of the West Indies before reporting back soreness on his return home. He has previously said he would need between four and six weeks of bowling before being ready for competitive cricket.
His light bowling session came just two days after Australia coach Andrew McDonald expressed optimism about the captain’s recovery. “We flagged this a week or so ago, that it would take sort of four-plus weeks to get him up and running,” McDonald told reporters on Monday. “We have run out of time for the first Test unfortunately, but we are really optimistic and hopeful for the second Test match.
“The next question is, what is the time frame, what does it look like for the second Test? I am not really going to be able to answer that, other than to say that he will be back bowling this week, and that is a huge step. That was the big variable that we wanted to add in and get that information. So we are on the journey to that second Test and very hopeful that that will be a positive outcome.”
McDonald added that how Cummins recovered from his initial bowling sessions would be critical in determining his availability. “We will see how he pulls up and then we will make decisions moving forward,” he said. “With the nature of this injury, it is never going to be a clear time frame. I would never put the medical team under that sort of duress either.”
