Australia is all set to lock horns against their arch-rivals England in the upcoming Ashes Test series. Ahead of the five-match contest, there are higher chances of the absence of the Australian skipper Pat Cummins due to injury.
He has been battling a back injury that has prevented him from bowling since July, and the Australia skipper only returned to running earlier this month, just weeks out from the first Test against England in Perth.
Providing an update on the skipper`s fitness, head coach Andrew McDonald said that there are positive signs and the pacer has been optimistic in the past few months.
“Patty and I have spoken about that type of timeframe. Otherwise, you start to introduce other risk factors. A: You`re not skill-ready, or B: Soft tissue injuries then become a real risk. If you were to do a soft tissue injury early in a series like the Ashes, then it`s a long way back from where he`s been. So we`ll be mindful of all those risk factors,” he said as quoted by the ICC.
“There`s some positive signs speaking to Patty over the last few days. He`s a lot more optimistic. Those who have been through this type of injury (say) these things ebb and flow. A couple of weeks ago, did he think he had a chance (to play in Perth)? Potentially not, he was a little bit sore. Then you flip it forward two weeks, and there`s a lot more positivity. We`ve still got a little bit to go,” added McDonald.
The first Test match of the Ashes between Australia and England is scheduled to be played from November 21 at the Optus Stadium in Perth.
The head coach then said that Cummins has the ability to prepare for the Test matches in a shorter duration. He also said that in the next week, the management will be able to decide on the pacer`s availability for the first game of the Ashes.
“One of the benefits with Patty is that he has had the ability to prepare for Test matches off shortened preparations. So if it was to be shrunken down, we`d be very confident that he would still be able to perform in the first Test. However, the reality is that we`re starting to get tight in terms of time. We`re still optimistic, hopeful, but this time next week, I think we`ll be in a position to get a better gauge on where he`s at,” the 44-year-old concluded.
In case Cummins misses out on the first Test match, star batsman Steve Smith would likely take over the leadership duties for the Aussies.
(With ANI Inputs)