Aussies face leadership test as pacer\u2019s injury casts doubt over series preparations
\n MELBOURNE
\nWith the prospect of captain Pat Cummins being fit for the Ashes receding by the day, Australia\u2019s hopes of retaining the urn may rest on managing one of the biggest shake-ups to their leadership and bowling against England in years.
\nA back stress injury has cast doubt on Cummins participating in the series starting on November 21 in Perth, with the paceman yet to resume bowling in his rehabilitation period.
\nLosing Cummins for Perth alone would require a major shift in the Australian mindset, given the 32-year-old has been ever-present since making his Ashes debut in 2017\/18.
\nCummins has played every series-opener and across four Ashes campaigns missed only one match, when ruled out of the 2021 Adelaide test for eating at the same restaurant as a person who tested positive for COVID-19.
\nThat durability has seen him claim 91 English wickets at an average of 24.10, leading his regular pace colleagues Josh Hazlewood and Mitchell Starc.
\nWith Cummins fit and firing, Australia have never lost the urn since reclaiming it in 2017. Little wonder that the prospect of Cummins being absent from the upcoming series has raised English hopes.
\n\u201cShould he be missing in Perth, it would unquestionably be bad for the series and bad for Australia, but give a huge lift to an England team looking to win their first test\u2013never mind series\u2013in the country for more than a decade,\u201d former England captain Michael Atherton wrote in The Times.
\nWhile Scott Boland is likely to be first in line to replace Cummins in the pace bowling unit, Cummins\u2019 absence will put the spotlight on how 35-year-old Starc and 34-year-old Hazlewood are managed throughout the five-test series.
\nStarc slogged through five tests against India in the last home summer but Hazlewood has not managed a full Ashes series since 2017\/18 due to injuries. Fast-bowling all-rounder Cameron Green will be under pressure to ease the workload of the front-line quicks but may also need to be managed carefully as he works his way back into bowling after spinal surgery.
\nVice-captain Steve Smith is in line to take the captaincy if Cummins is unfit, having stepped in for the regular skipper during the two-test series against Sri Lanka. Though Smith was a full-time captain prior to the Newlands ball-tampering scandal in 2018, it will be another paradigm shift for a team that has grown accustomed to Cummins\u2019 calm leadership during their rise to the summit of test cricket.
\nCummins said last week his latest scan on his back showed the injury was lingering and he would need to be careful.
\nCricket Australia said no decisions have been made on his availability for the Ashes. Starc on Thursday said he was unaware of the latest news on the injury but said Cummins would be able to get back up to speed quickly once cleared to resume bowling.
\n\u201cI found one thing playing with Pat and being close with Pat, he doesn\u2019t need much (time),\u201d he said. \u201cHe just knows when to switch on or how to switch on really quickly.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Aussies face leadership test as pacer\u2019s injury casts doubt over series preparations MELBOURNE With the prospect of captain Pat Cummins being fit for the Ashes receding by the day, Australia\u2019s hopes of retaining the urn may rest on managing one of the biggest shake-ups to their leadership and bowling against England in years. A back […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-507787","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-sports"],"yoast_head":"\n