Steve Smith to Captain Australia as Pat Cummins Misses First Ashes Test with Back Injury
Steve Smith will captain Australia in the first Ashes Test in Perth, starting on November 21, after regular skipper Pat Cummins was officially ruled out due to a back injury.
With less than a month left for the series to begin, Cummins is still recovering from the back stress injury he picked up during Australia’s tour of the Caribbean in June. He hasn’t started bowling yet but has begun light running, which is a good sign according to Cricket Australia. The fast bowler had also missed the white-ball series against South Africa, New Zealand, and India while recovering.
Steve Smith to Lead as Cummins Misses First Ashes Test with Back Injury
Cummins is now racing against time to be ready for the second Test at the Gabba in Brisbane, starting December 4. Head coach Andrew McDonald said the team had “run out of time” to get him ready for Perth but remains hopeful that he’ll return for the Brisbane Test.
"We've run out of time [to make the opener]. We flagged this a week or so ago that it will take four-plus weeks to get him up and running. We've run out of time unfortunately, but really optimistic and hopeful for the second Test match," McDonald said.
"He'll be back bowling this week, and that's a huge step. That was the big variable that we wanted to add in. We're on the journey to that that second Test match, and very hopeful that that will be a positive outcome," he added.
"Patty will be around the group as well, he'll come to Perth... and it'll almost be one of those things where you'll see him and it'll almost be a question of, 'Why isn't he playing in Perth?' That's where we think he'll be placed by that that stage," he added.
There’s some good news about Cameron Green too. He missed the recent ODI series against India because of side soreness but has started bowling again. He’ll play for Western Australia in the Sheffield Shield, though he hasn’t yet been cleared to bowl in that match.
Green returns, Boland set to replace Cummins
As for Steve Smith, he’s one of Australia’s most successful Test captains, having led the team in 40 matches. His last time as captain was in February this year when Australia won a 2-0 Test series in Sri Lanka. Interestingly, Smith averages nearly 70 with the bat when he’s captain, which is much higher than his average of 50 when he isn’t leading.
In the bowling department, Scott Boland is expected to take Cummins’ place in the team. Boland has an impressive bowling average of just 12.63 at home and is best remembered for his stunning spell of 6 wickets for 7 runs against England in the 2021–22 Melbourne Test.
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