Pat Cummins vows to be ‘aggressive’ in Ashes fitness push

BRISBANE: Australia captain Pat Cummins has admitted he may need to take an “aggressive” approach in order to prove his fitness ahead of the Ashes opener against England in Perth on November 21.

Cummins has been ruled out of the upcoming white-ball series against New Zealand and India due to lumbar bone stress. 

While chief selector George Bailey is optimistic that the 31-year-old will be fit to lead the side into the Ashes, there are no guarantees.

Speaking publicly for the first time since his injury diagnosis, Cummins stressed that missing the marquee series would be devastating.

"That would be devastating, so we'll be doing everything we can to try to be right for that and try to make a few decisions a little bit closer, but confident" Cummins told reporters in Brisbane on Wednesday. "Do the rehab right and give it a good crack.

"It's a big Ashes series. It doesn't get much bigger, so I think you're willing to take a few risks and be a little bit aggressive to try and play as much Test [cricket] as you can."

Cummins also backed himself to be ready without any match practice, echoing Bailey’s assessment.

“At this stage of my career I feel like I can probably get up to speed quicker than when I was 18 or 19,” he said. “Back then you felt like you needed to play a few Shield games or one-dayers. Now I’m pretty confident even if I don’t get that chance, I’ll be able to hit my stride.”

The fast bowler first experienced soreness following Australia’s 3-0 Test sweep of the West Indies in July, during which he bowled just 60 overs across three matches.

"Gave it kind of another month [after the tour], have had a pretty quiet month to help settle it down and had another scan on Monday which [was] not terrible, but kind of enough to know that there's a little bit there and kind of got to be careful for the next little bit," Cummins said.

"It doesn't feel too bad, but I'm obviously not bowling or doing too much at the moment. With bone injuries, you really just want to settle it down.

"I'm still doing a bit of gym, but no real running, no bowling. Get that right and then we'll build up to the summer. We've got loads of time, there's about 12 weeks until the first Test. We'll see how the next little bit pans out.''

While he continues gym work, Cummins has paused running and bowling as he gradually builds towards full fitness with nearly three months remaining before the Ashes.

If Cummins fails to recover in time, Australia have options to cover his absence. Scott Boland, who claimed a hat-trick against the West Indies in July, looms as the frontrunner to step into the attack. Other pace options include Sean Abbott, Brendan Doggett, Michael Neser, and Jhye Richardson.

"We always talk about we need a lot of depth," Cummins said. "We've been lucky in the last couple of years. We kind of haven't had to go past the four guys really, but guys like Sean Abbott...Doggy [Brendan Doggett], there's about four or five guys. Ness [Michael Neser] has obviously been around, Jhye Richardson.

"There's guys who have been in and around the Test team over the last few years and haven't had too many opportunities, but we know they're going to be good enough if they're needed. But hopefully the other three are going to be fighting fit, plus me, and we've got plenty of resources."

Since Cummins took over as captain in November 2021, former skipper Steven Smith has frequently deputised in his absence and remains available as cover if required.