Recovering Cummins ponders all-format future

SYDNEY: As he plots a path towards fitness for Australia’s Test appointment with Pakistan in October, Pat Cummins has admitted to pondering whether it is possible for fast bowlers to maintain a place in the national team’s plans across all formats, following a 15-month stretch in which only Kagiso Rabada bowled more overs in international cricket.

Graphic: Starc, Hazlewood and Cummins are facing a race against time to be fit for Australia’s tour to UAE in October. Cummins (back), Josh Hazlewood (back) and Mitchell Starc (right leg) are all at varying points of their rehabilitation stress-related injuries picked up towards the end of last summer, with recent results in England and Zimbabwe showing how much the “big three” are missed. After early injuries and then careful preparation to ensure he reached fast bowling maturity without chronic problems, Cummins said he had taken time to consider how sustainable it was for him to turn out for Australia across all three formats. There will be a hefty ODI emphasis for Australia over the next 12 months, with series against South Africa, Pakistan and India ahead of the World Cup in England. But there are also two Tests in the UAE and six at home against India and Sri Lanka, before the rapid transition from the knockout stages of the World Cup to an Ashes tour of England.