Australian Test skipper Pat Cummins has said he would do “whatever it takes” to play the high-profile Ashes, even as he battles a back injury which he’s likely to have picked up due to an uptick in workload during the World Test Championship Final against South Africa earlier this year.
The 32-year-old quick, who will miss the upcoming white-ball games against New Zealand and India and also the Sheffield Shield matches in the run-up to the Ashes, is hopeful he would recover in time for the opening Test in Perth beginning November 21.
“I’m never going to go into a Test match unless you think you can finish the Test match,” Cummins told cricket.com.au on Wednesday (September 3, 2025).
“But when you’re 18 or 19, you’re like, ‘Let’s make sure this is the perfect rehab, whether it takes an extra six months’. Whereas, I’m happy to be a bit like, ‘Well, it’s an Ashes series, whatever it takes to play it’.
“Then, say, at the end, if you’re still not 100 per cent and you need to then have a bit of a break next year… there’s not another Ashes series,” said Cummins, amplifying the importance of the series against England.
Medical scans have revealed a lower-back issue that has continued to trouble the stalwart even weeks after the Test series against the West Indies.
Cummins is currently on a restricted regimen in the gym and will not be risked over the coming weeks to ensure the back issue gets resolved. He has a history of injuries, including persistent back issues and an ankle problem that made him miss the Champions Trophy earlier this year.
The pacer said the experts will “reassess” him in a month’s time.
Cummins said he would require little preparation time for the Ashes even if he misses the Shield games, adding that he was willing to take the risks.
“I think you’re willing to take a few risks and be a little bit aggressive to try and play as much Tests as you can. At this stage of my career, I feel like I can probably get up to speed a bit quicker than when I was 18 or 19.
“Back then you probably feel like you need to play a few Shield games or one-dayers. I’m pretty confident even if I don’t get a chance to play a Shield game, I can get up to speed pretty quickly.
“It’s (nearly) 12 weeks until the first Test, it feels a long way away, so we’ve got plenty of time.”
Cummins, who bowled 35.1 overs in the WTC Final defeat to South Africa at Lord’s in June in four days, saw his bowling workload increase drastically during the title clash soon after returning from the grind of the Indian Premier League.
“Sometimes you might just get unlucky and bowl a lot of overs in, say, the World Test Championship final and that’s enough to kind of start it (injury),” he said.
“Through the West Indies, I felt like maybe it was a little bit sore, but nothing abnormal for fast bowlers, you’ve always got some niggles. Once you get home and everything settles down, it just hung around a little bit.” He sent down another 49 overs in less that a fortnight in the first two Tests against the West Indies.
On his injury, Cummins, who has missed just one Test due to injury since taking charge of the Test side four years ago, said, “It’s similar (to previous injuries). But I’ve been really lucky, the last seven or eight years I haven’t really had much.” “In 2018 I had a full-blown stress fracture, which kept me out for a full off-season. But I’ve had a really good run as far as fast bowling goes and have been well looked after.
“It feels worlds away (from those more serious injuries). I’ve bowled a lot over the last few years, so something was bound to happen at some point. But hopefully I get this right and don’t miss too much cricket,” he added.
