Ashes Discussion | Pat Cummins will miss first test of upcoming series

This is a significant setback for Australia 

They have confirmed that captain Pat Cummins will miss the first Ashes Test, with Steve Smith set to take the reins in his absence.

Author | Peter Jones

Cummins, the side’s leading fast bowler, has been sidelined by a back injury and had earlier described himself as “less than likely” to play in the series opener in Perth on 21 November.

Although the 32-year-old will not be ready for the first Test, he has returned to bowling in the nets this week. Head coach Andrew McDonald expressed optimism that Cummins could be fit for the second Test in Brisbane, starting on 4 December.

It is a significant setback for Australia to lose its captain and premier pace bowler. Concerns over his fitness first emerged in September, leading to Cummins missing the white-ball series against New Zealand and India with a lumbar stress fracture.

Speaking two weeks ago, Cummins said time was “tight” ahead of the first Test, noting he needed at least a month of practice in the nets to be match-ready.

Pat Cummins ruled out of first Ashes Test against England | The National https://t.co/uPjtq9C5yw

— The National Sport (@NatSportUAE) October 27, 2025

A player who has had a huge impact for his country

Cummins was appointed captain on the eve of the previous Ashes series in 2021–22, which Australia won 4-0, despite the bowler missing the second Test after a Covid scare. He went on to lead the side to World Test Championship and World Cup victories in 2023, the same year the Ashes in England ended in a 2-2 draw.

Smith is a more than capable stand-in. The 36-year-old, himself a former Ashes-winning captain, lost the role in 2018 following the ‘sandpapergate’ ball-tampering scandal. The batter, one of the game’s all-time leading Ashes scorers, has captained Australia on six previous occasions when Cummins has been unavailable.

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Cummins’ place in the bowling attack is expected to go to Scott Boland, who boasts a remarkable Test average of 12.63 in Australia. Boland, 36, is likely to join fellow senior pacemen Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood in a seam attack for a gruelling five-Test series compressed into just over seven weeks.

Even with experienced options, Australia may need to draw on untested or relatively inexperienced players such as Michael Neser, Brendan Doggett, or Fergus O’Neill, although McDonald has not ruled out a Test return for Mitchell Marsh.

Marsh, Australia’s white-ball captain who earned the most recent of his 46 caps last December, averages 28.5 with the bat and 40.4 with the ball in Tests.