SYDNEY: Australia skipper Pat Cummins said on Friday he hoped to play in all five Ashes Tests against England but conceded he will need to see how his back injury holds up, local media said.

Pace spearhead Cummins has been ruled out of the October white-ball series against New Zealand and India with “lumbar bone stress”.

The 32-year-old has not bowled since the Test tour of the West Indies in June-July and no firm date has been set for his return. Cummins said on Friday that although he hopes to be part of the Ashes, he would need to “wait and see”.

“There are no hard and fast plans yet,” the skipper told reporters. “I’m still doing a bit of gym and keeping things kicking over, but with this kind of injury, it’s rest and then we’ll build back and kind of work back from the Ashes,” he said.

“Still really hopeful to be able to be part of the Ashes. But it is a little bit of a wait-and-see.”

Cummins told reporters he aimed to play in all five Tests, but conceded a decision would have to be made closer to the time.

“It’s honestly too far out to say. But the aim at the moment is to try and be ready for all of it,” he said.

Cummins has suffered serious back issues several times over the years, including a flare-up in 2018 that kept him out of action for a full off-season.

Australia coach Andrew McDonald said this week he was confident Cummings would play a key part in the Ashes.

But he acknowledged to SEN radio that the uncertainty around Cummins “is not ideal”, but it was an “overreaction” to say the skipper would not play.

“It’s not ideal. I’m not going to sit here and say that it’s ideal,” McDonald told the radio station. The first Ashes Test against England in Perth starts on November 21.

Australia retained the Ashes in England in 2023 after the series ended in a 2-2 draw. They enjoyed a 4-0 sweep of England at home in 2021-22. Cummins was the leading wicket-taker with 21 scalps at an average of 18.

Published in Dawn, September 20th, 2025