Australia’s Pat Cummins not ruling out playing all five Ashes Tests despite back problem

Australia captain Pat Cummins has not yet ruled out playing all five Ashes Tests this winter, despite ongoing concerns over his back injury.

Cummins is currently recovering from a ‘lumbar stress’ problem and head coach Andrew McDonald raised eyebrows over his skipper’s likely availability against England when he suggested the seamer would play a “significant” role in the series, rather than a full one.

But Cummins is taking an optimistic view: “The starting aim is five,” Cummins told reporters. “Every summer you kind of aim for five.

“Once we get closer, we’re probably going to chat through potentially more realistic situations.

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Ashes schedule

• 1st Test, Perth: Nov 21-25
• 2nd Test, Brisbane: Dec 4-8
• 3rd Test, Adelaide: Dec 17-21
• 4th Test, Melbourne: Dec 26-30
• 5th Test, Sydney: Jan 4-8

Break down

“It’s honestly too far out to say, but the aim at the moment is to try and be ready for all of it.”

Cummins is not expected to play any competitive cricket before the opener in Perth on November 21, a situation he is relaxed about.

“I don’t think it’s vital,” he said. “If you’d asked me 10 years ago, I would have said I really feel like in myself I need to play games.

“Now it’s centre wickets, net sessions, I’ve bowled a lot more overs. I feel like I can kind of get up to Test level pretty quickly.

“I won’t go into a Test where I feel like I can break down or whatever.”

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