With Pat Cummins set to miss the 1st Test of the Ashes series vs England, Australia will be missing their regular captain as well as a terrific bowler. Asked whether Cummins could be fit forv the second Test at Brisbane, teammate Mitchell Starc laughed and said, “Can we get him in this week?” which goes on to show how important the 32-year-old is to the team.
“Yeah, I think so. Probably understand why he doesn’t train much because when he does, he makes us all look silly. He was really sharp the other day and sounds like he’s pulling up pretty well so very positive signs,” Starc told reporters.
Australia will be without Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood for the series opener, thereby putting an enormous load on the likes of Starc and Nathan Lyon to take 20 English wickets. Cummins was ruled out of the opener on November due to a lumbar stress injury while Hazlewood will sit the 1st Test out due to a hamstring injury.
Australia have played only two home Tests without both Cummins and Hazlewood in their playing XI since 2014. The first instance came against England in 2021 and the second against the West Indies in 2022.
“I think we’re all pretty clear on what our roles are. Obviously I’ve got a little bit more experience there. Scotty’s been around for a fair while now, so it’s not like I’m telling him what to do. We’ve got Patty in the sheds with us anyway. So, I may take on a little bit of an experienced role. But we’ve all been around the traps for a while, so it’s just staying together as a group,” Starc said on Wednesday per ICC.
On Wednesday, England announced their XII for the first Ashes Test. Off-spinner Shoaib Bashir was included in the players’ list, as was Mark Wood, who has cleared a fitness test and will most likely feature in the playing XI.
