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Australia captain Pat Cummins says he is willing to be “aggressive” and “take risks” with his rehabilitation from a back injury in order to be fit for the first Ashes Test against England this winter.
Cummins has been ruled out of Australia’s upcoming white-ball series against New Zealand and India after scans revealed a lumbar bone stress in his back.
The 32-year-old says it would be “devastating” if he missed out on the first Ashes Test, which starts on 21 November in Perth, Western Australia.
“I’m never going to go into a Test match unless I think I can finish the Test match,” Cummins said.
“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% and you need to have a bit of a break next year, there’s not another Ashes series.”
Cummins has been restricted to light gym work since his last Test appearance against West Indies in July and is prepared to go into the Ashes without having played any domestic cricket.
“You’re willing to take a few risks and be a little bit aggressive to try and play as many Tests as you can,” he added.
“I’m pretty confident even if I don’t get a chance to play a [Sheffield] Shield game, I can get up to speed pretty quickly.
“I’m still doing a bit of gym work, but no real running, no bowling. Get that right and then we’ll build up to the summer.
“We’ve got loads of time, there’s about 12 weeks until the first Test. We’ll see how the next little bit pans out.”
Cummins has a history of back injuries, with flare-ups in 2012-13, 2013-14 and 2015-16 causing him to miss three Australian summers in four years.
In 2018, he suffered a recurrence that ruled him out of the Indian Premier League in April and an October tour of Pakistan, although he has stayed relatively free of injury since then.
Australia drew 2-2 in England to retain the Ashes in 2023 and Cummins took 18 wickets during the series.
Overall, he has taken 91 wickets against England in 19 Tests at an average of 24.10.
