Australia’s injured captain Pat Cummins will play a “significant” part in the Ashes but may not feature in all five Tests, coach Andrew McDonald says.
McDonald concedes uncertainty remains around Cummins amid the skipper’s back injury. But he dismissed speculation Cummins could miss the highly anticipated Test series against England starting on 21 November in Perth.
“We’re confident that he’s going to partake in the Ashes so I think to sensationalise that he’s not would be an overreaction,” McDonald told SEN radio.
“It’s not ideal … he is working through a program. It was a routine scan on the back of the West Indies [tour], he does have a lumbar bone stress issue there, so he will just work through what his return to play looks like.
“We have got time. If it happened any closer [to the Ashes] then you would have to be making key decisions around what it all looks like. But we have got time, a lot more information to come, and as I said, we’re really hopeful that he will take a key part in the Ashes.”
Cummins won’t feature in Australia’s white-ball series against New Zealand and India preceding the Ashes.
McDonald expected the fast bowler to be around the white-ball squad as part of his rehabilitation, but cast doubt on any of Australia’s Test bowlers featuring in all five Ashes Tests.
“From the get-go, we never really planned for five Test matches for most of our fast bowlers,” he said.
“Over the last couple of years we have been lucky with shortened games early in the summer, to be able to deliver five Test matches [for a fast bowler]. We will see what that looks like for Pat.”
Meanwhile, Marnus Labuschagne and Sam Konstas have fired up their quest to return to the Test side for the Ashes series.
Labuschagne has started the summer with a century for Queensland off just 92 deliveries in the One-Day Cup clash against Victoria at Allan Border Field on Wednesday.
“My goal is to be there for the first Test,” he said. “The only way you can do that is with performances on the board.
“The benefit I have is that I have done it before. I have done it for seven years, so I know my game. If I get myself back to my best I know I will be back there.”
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While Labuschagne has made his mark as a No 3 batter, he is also open to partnering Usman Khawaja at the top of the order.
“I don’t care where I bat, if I have to open or bat three,” he said.
“The fact of the matter is that when you are not in the team you don’t have the luxury of choosing where you bat. That is just the nature of it. I want to play in the team.
In India with the Australia A side, Sam Konstas conquered some mental demons to hit 109 from 144 balls in Lucknow, with McDonald saying the 19-year-old now must sustain his promising form.
After a miserable tour of West Indies left Konstas at risk of being dropped from the Test team, the opener is in an early season purple patch, also striking 109 for NSW Country against City earlier this month.
“It’s good spending some time in the middle,” he said.
“Today I felt I had to face quite a few demons mentally and I just had to get through that. There are obviously different challenges and just trying to adapt to the conditions. I am super stoked and hopefully I can build on that.”
Konstas is Australia’s incumbent opener ahead of the first Ashes Test in Perth starting 21 November, but is far from assured of selection.
After bursting on to the scene last summer, the teenager managed scores of just 3, 5, 25, 0, 17 and 0 in the West Indies earlier this year.
