Australia head coach Andrew McDonald remains confident that injured captain Pat Cummins will be fit to play a significant part in the upcoming Ashes series, even if he does not feature in all five Tests.
Cummins, who is recovering from a lower back injury sustained during Australia’s tour of the West Indies earlier this year, has been ruled out of Australia’s white-ball series against New Zealand and India in October.
Speaking to Australian radio station SEN, McDonald said, “We have got time. If it happened any closer (to the Ashes) then you would have to be making key decisions around what it all looks like. But we have got time, a lot more information to come, and as I said, we’re really hopeful that he will take a key part in the Ashes.”
The medical staff have not yet finalised a timeline for Cummins’ return to international cricket. McDonald also indicated that the coaching team never expected their pace attack, including Cummins, to play all five Tests in the Ashes series against England.
“From the get-go, we never really planned for five Test matches for most of our fast bowlers,” McDonald said. “Over the last couple of years we have been lucky with shortened games early in the summer, to be able to deliver five Test matches (for a fast bowler). We will see what that looks like for Pat.”
