Pat Cummins will walk out at Adelaide Oval on Wednesday as Australia’s captain and strike bowler, a scenario that looked unlikely only a couple of months ago. The 32-year-old has not played since July, when a stress reaction in his lower back flared during the Jamaica Test against West Indies, yet he insists he is now fully fit and under no workload restrictions for the third Ashes Test.
“I’m good to go,” Cummins said after Australia’s final training session. “I’ve been bowling [at] 100% for a while. If I’d played in Brisbane, I would probably have been on limited overs. But this week, it’s just ‘go and play’ like any other Test match.”
Cricket Australia’s medical staff initially feared the injury might rule him out of the entire series, prompting an “aggressive” rehabilitation programme that began in late August and saw him return to full bowling only at the end of October. That timeline would be considered risky for most fast bowlers, but Cummins, who has dealt with back problems since his teens, placed complete faith in the specialists.
“The medical staff are the leading experts in this around the world. They see more of these injuries than anyone else, and I have complete trust in them. That’s probably the most comforting part.”
Cummins’ back issues are well documented: his first two Test caps were separated by five-and-a-half years because of repeated stress fractures. Those experiences shaped his decision-making this time. The captain revealed that if any setback had appeared during the rehab phase he would have ruled himself out immediately, even if that meant missing the urn defence altogether.
“I know I got asked a million times in the off-season, ‘Are you going to play?’. I genuinely didn’t know. As long as everything tracked well, I would be in this position, but we also knew that you’ve got to tread lightly around some of these injuries, and if there was a flare-up or a setback, I wouldn’t have played. We wouldn’t have risked it.”
He first felt the warning signs during the second innings in Jamaica. Australia needed only 14.3 overs to finish the match, which allowed him to avoid bowling again.
“I first felt it in West Indies,” Cummins said. “Second innings Jamaica, things happened pretty quickly and I was pretty happy not to bowl there: I was feeling a bit sore. I got an initial scan which showed something potentially brewing, but a lot of these times, the next scan shows a bit more, and four weeks later, I had another scan that looked a bit more serious.”
From there, the recovery plan was straightforward, if demanding: a lengthy period of complete rest, followed by incremental increases in workload—first walking, then gym sessions, light run-throughs, and eventually full-pace spells in the nets. Cummins bowled 30 overs across two centre-wicket sessions in Perth last week, satisfying both medical and coaching staff.
“I feel like I’ve been really well managed and well supported, and we’ve all been pretty open-minded, the medical staff, coaches and myself, and luckily, things have played out pretty well.”
Nathan Lyon, set for his 117th Test, said the captain’s return lifts the whole dressing-room. “Having Pat back is massive,” the off-spinner noted during a media call. “He brings calm leadership on the field and, obviously, world-class fast bowling.”
Selection for Adelaide is uncomplicated: Cummins replaces Steven Smith as skipper and slots straight into the attack alongside Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood, with Lyon holding the spin berth. The batting line-up that secured victory in Brisbane is expected to remain unchanged.
From a tactical perspective, Cummins’ presence offers Australia flexibility. His ability to hit the high 140s kph while maintaining relentless accuracy allows Hazlewood to operate in more attacking bursts and gives Starc licence to swing the new ball aggressively. For England’s batters, that means little respite under Adelaide’s floodlights, where the pink ball can zip around in the evening sessions.
Yet Cummins was eager to temper expectations. Returning from a back injury, even a minor one, always carries risk, and the workload across five Ashes Tests in seven weeks is substantial. The plan, he said, is to listen to the body and adjust on the fly rather than chase personal milestones.
“Test cricket is never a walk in the park, especially against England,” he added, standing in the late-afternoon sunshine. “But the back feels strong. I’m excited, maybe a touch nervous, and honestly just happy to be here.”
