Australian Test captain Pat Cummins is making a tentative comeback to bowling as he prepares for the Ashes.
A quick net session in Sydney on Wednesday saw Cummins bowl a five-step run-up. The skipper of Australia will miss the first Test against England in Perth on November 21.
However, Cummins expects to return in the midst of the five-Test series after four to six weeks of bowling.
Brisbane hosts the second Test on December 4 and Adelaide the third on December 17.
On Wednesday, famous physio Patrick Farhart and the Blues’ strength and conditioning coach Dean McNamara saw Cummins bowl off a short run-up at Cricket New South Wales’ Silverwater headquarters.
Australia coach Andrew McDonald hoped Cummins could show his fitness for the second Test two days before his bowling return.
I “We flagged this a week or so ago, that it would take sort of four-plus weeks to get him up and running,” McDonald told reporters Monday. We’re optimistic about the second Test, but we ran out of time for the first.
The second Test’s timeframe and format are following. He’ll be bowling again this week, which is a big step.
That was the big variable we wanted to introduce and obtain information on. We hope the second Test will go well.”
Cummins last played in mid-July’s West Indies Test tour. Back soreness after returning to Australia led to a lumbar stress injury in September.
McDonald stressed the importance of Cummins’ bowling recovery.
“We will see how he pulls up and then we’ll make decisions moving forward,” said. It’s impossible to predict the duration of this injury. No way would I put the medical team under that pressure.”
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