Mitchell Starc is confident Pat Cummins can walk straight into the opening Ashes Test in Perth, even if the captain has only a handful of overs under his belt beforehand.
Cummins has not bowled since July’s tour of the Caribbean and is still managing a “hot spot” in his lower back. With the series six weeks away, his workload remains a talking point, though Cricket Australia has yet to rule him out.
Starc, preparing for his own return after a winter break, believes Cummins’ feel for rhythm is like few others in the game.
“Playing with Pat and being close with Pat, he doesn’t need much,” Starc said. “Whether he bowls three warm-up balls and the first over [of] the game, he’s on the money, he just knows when to switch on or how to switch on really quickly. So what it looks like for him in his prep, it’s going to be certainly different to what mine feels and looks like, and that comes with experience and age.”
Different bowlers, different build-ups
Starc admitted he often needs a larger bowling load before feeling ready, unlike Cummins. “Having spent so much time with Josh [Hazlewood] and Pat and myself and Scotty [Boland], we all prepare slightly differently,” he said. “I feel like at times I need to bowl more around preparation stuff, whether it be training or after layoffs.”
The left-armer has already returned to the nets before the one-day series against India and is due to turn out for New South Wales against Victoria in the Sheffield Shield from 10-13 November. Hazlewood is on the same schedule. Cummins, by contrast, remains largely confined to the gym.
“He’s in good spirits,” Starc added. “He’s ultra-positive as always, and there’s still some weeks to go before we get to Perth for the Test prep. So we’ll see where that lands. Hopefully we see a lot of him through the summer, and we’ll see where we get to in Perth.”
Captaincy contingency
If Cummins fails to pass fit, Australia will need a stand-in leader. Starc sees no mystery about the likely deputy. “We’ve got a group of us that have played cricket with Steve as captain anyway,” he said. “And then the times that he’s filled in over the last few seasons for Pat, whether it be for personal reasons, for illness or for injury, it’s an easy transition for Steve. He’s obviously a very experienced cricket brain and thinks heavily about the game, and we have a team of experienced guys.”
Jhye Richardson hopeful
Meanwhile, fast-bowling colleague Jhye Richardson, on the comeback trail from shoulder surgery, has progressed to bowling off his full run and says he could be ready for Test duty this summer if needed. Selectors have not committed publicly, but Richardson’s pace and swing offer a handy insurance policy should Cummins’ back issues linger.
What next?
The medical staff will monitor Cummins’ back over the next fortnight before deciding whether to push him into practice matches or hold him back for the Gabba training block that precedes Perth. A fast bowler usually wants four to five spells of increasing intensity to tune up, yet Cummins has defied conventional timelines before.
If he declares himself ready and the scans stay clean, few in the Australian set-up will doubt him. And, as Starc reminded everyone, Cummins’ track record underlines why.
“He doesn’t need much.”
