Australia captain Pat Cummins has expressed cautious optimism about his return to competitive cricket ahead of the Ashes 2025 series against England, despite being several weeks away from bowling on the turf.
Cummins has been managing a back injury and has yet to resume full bowling training ahead of the first Test, scheduled in Perth on November 21.
“I’d say probably less likely than likely, but we’ve still got a bit of time. I’m running today and running every second day, gradually increasing distance, and then we get into bowling prep next week. I’m probably a couple of weeks away from actually putting on the spikes and bowling out on the turf. But it’s been a good couple of weeks. Each session feels better and better,” Cummins said, as quoted by the ICC.
The pace spearhead acknowledged the tight timeline to be match-ready, noting that a minimum of four weeks in the nets would be needed to confidently bowl 20 overs in a Test.
“It’s a back injury that I haven’t had for about seven or eight years, and I’ve played a lot of cricket in between. If I get it right and do it properly, when I come back, I shouldn’t have to worry about it. Hopefully I can play as much, if not more, cricket than I have in the last few years,” the 32-year-old added.
Cummins aims to participate in as many Ashes Tests as possible while keeping long-term fitness in mind, with an eye on leading Australia at the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup next year.
