Australia's Ashes Hopes Takes Massive Hit, Pat Cummins' Injury Issues Forces Him Stay Out Of Action Till The Start Of AUS vs ENG Series

Australia and England are gearing up to lock horns with each other in the Ashes that is scheduled to be played later this year in November. Both England and Australia have experienced contrasting futures this year as far as the longest format of the game is concerned. England recently played out a 2-2 draw against a young India in the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy series, Australia, on the other hand, dominated the West Indies and defeated them by a margin of 3-0.

Concerns Regarding Pat Cummins' Fitness Ahead Of Ashes 2025

Cricket Australia is closely monitoring Pat Cummins' fitness ahead of the all-important Ashes. It is being reported that a scan revealed lumbar bone stress in the lower back and it will prevent him from playing the home white-ball series against New Zealand and India. In order to keep himself fully fit and to recover in time, Cummins will not play any cricket till the start of Ashes 2025-26. The first Test match of the series will be played on November 21 in Perth.

Australia's Test and ODI skipper Pat Cummins hasn't played any cricket since the culmination of the three-match Australia vs West Indies Test series. Cummins also missed the five-match T20I series against the Caribbean team and also the white-ball series against South Africa that followed later. The idea was to give the Aussie ODI and Test skipper a 10-week rest for his body to recover.

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Unfortunately, Cummins experienced some soreness and scans later revealed that he had a bone stress. Cummins has been cleared of any fracture in his lower spine. Stress fractures are not something that have been rare for the Australia skipper. The first six years of his career were plagued by it. After his debut in 2011 to his second Test in India in 2017, Cummins was not able to play Test cricket and this is enough to indicate towards his problems with stress fractures.

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Cummins' Run Against Time To Get Fit For Ashes

Australia can't afford to lose Cummins for or during the Ashes series. The Aussie skipper had initially planned to play the New Zealand and India series and then play a Sheffield Shield game in order to prepare himself for the Ashes. Cummins now has just 11 weeks for the hot spot on his lower back to settle down. If he fails to recover on time, he might very well miss the first Ashes Test.