AUS vs ENG | Australian captain Pat Cummins ruled out of first Ashes Test with back injury

‌Australian skipper Pat Cummins has been ruled out of the first Test against England in Perth from November 21 after failing to recover in time from a back injury. However, the pacer will start bowling this week in his bid to be fit and raring to go for the second game.

Former Australian skipper Steve Smith will lead the side in the Ashes 2025-26 opener in Cummins’ absence, with the second Test to be played in Brisbane from December 4. The news was on expected lines after the Sunrisers Hyderabad skipper failed to return to bowling during training after suffering a lumbar stress injury in September.

"We've run out of time," head coach Andrew McDonald told reporters in Canberra. "We sort of flagged this a week or so ago that it would take sort of four plus weeks to get him up and running, and we've run out of time, unfortunately, but really optimistic and hopeful for the second Test match.

“Ideally, we want the captain available for stability and decision making, but...Steve Smith will slide into that position. Cummins will be back bowling this week, and that's a huge step. That was the big variable that we wanted to add in and get that information. So we're on the journey to that second Test and very hopeful that that will be a positive outcome."

Australia are expected to announce their squad for the five-Test series against England next week, with Scott Boland expected to fill in the shoes of Cummins.

"Losing your captain's not ideal, but when you talk about Scott Boland being the potential replacement, it's not a bad position to be in," McDonald said.