Pat Cummins has been ruled out of The Ashes series as Steve Smith is set to lead for the remainder of the matches.
Australia has confirmed Pat Cummins will miss the remainder of the Ashes series, with the captain shut down for the home summer after managing a back injury.
Despite heavy workloads, Mitchell Starc is expected to be fit for the Boxing Day Test, with coach Andrew McDonald lauding his resilience. Spinner Todd Murphy and fast bowler Jhye Richardson have been added to the squad, replacing the injured Nathan Lyon, who requires hamstring surgery.
Regarding the decision to rule Cummins out, McDonald explained, “He won’t play any part in the rest of the series. That was a discussion that we had a long time out around his return. Yeah, we were taking on some risk. We’ve now won the series, and that was the goal. To position him for further risk and jeopardize him long term is not something that we want to do. Pat’s really comfortable with that. If he had any setback in the build-in as well, we would have shut him down straight away,” McDonald said.
McDonald Praises Starc
McDonald expressed amazement at Starc’s durability, quoting the team physiotherapist who called the paceman a “freak”. “Starc’s amazing.
“I don’t know how he does it. I walked into the physio room the other day and went through the body count and how we’re going and (physiotherapist Nick Jones) just said, ‘He’s a freak’. He’s pulled up well, he keeps running in and presenting the pace that he does. There’s a lot to be learned around preparing yourself and targeting the right matches at the right time. He’s given up a lot of IPL opportunities and you’re seeing a player that wants to play Test cricket, and he’s still at his best. It’s an incredible story, and let’s hope it continues for a long time yet,” McDonald added.
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With Cummins unavailable, Richardson, Michael Neser, and Brendan Doggett are all in contention for a bowling role in Melbourne. McDonald praised the medical team’s call to have Richardson undergo shoulder surgery earlier this year, stating, “He’s on the selection table and we’ll make a decision around a balanced attack.”
The coach also noted that the selection of Murphy as Lyon’s specialist replacement is not guaranteed, leaving open the possibility of an all-seam attack at the MCG. He acknowledged Neser’s unfortunate omission after his five-wicket haul in Brisbane, saying, “Neser had been unlucky to be dropped for Adelaide.”
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