• Source:JND
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Ashes 2025: Australian captain Pat Cummins is set to miss the first Test against England in the upcoming Ashes series, which is scheduled to start from November 21 in Perth.

Cummins continues to recover from his stress injury in his back. The Australian captain could play a very small role in the entirety of the home series. As per a report in the Sydney Morning Herald, if Cummins misses out, Steve Smith is likely to lead the side. Notably, Cummins picked up the issue during a routine assessment after Australia's tour of the West Indies earlier this year.

Scans didn't show a fracture, but the bone stress was said to be significant enough to demand rest and rehabilitation. The senior pacer remained on the sidelines for the white-ball series against New Zealand and will also be unavailable for the upcoming series against India.

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"According to two sources with knowledge of confidential discussions but not authorised to speak publicly, 32-year-old Cummins had the update scan last week to clarify his progress ahead of the Test summer and was told that while the stress "hot spot" was healing, it had not yet cleared up enough for him to bowl," the report said.

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The report added that the Victoria pacer Scott Boland is certain to be the third quick in Perth behind Josh Hazlewood and Mitchell Starc. Cummins' injury will be a major blow to Australia's chances of retaining the Ashes Urn despite their incredible record against the long-time rivals at home, although Boland has shown a lot of promise in his short Test career so far.

Last month, Cummins was asked if there was a possibility he would miss the start of the Ashes. He admitted, "That would be devastating."

"We'll be doing everything we can to be right for that, [and] make a few decisions a little bit closer, but [I'm] confident we'll do the rehab right and give it a good crack.

"This far out, it's hard to know, but we're trying to make sure we're doing everything right to be right for Perth. It's a big Ashes series, [it] doesn't get much bigger, so you're willing to be aggressive and take a few risks to try to play as much of the Tests as you can.

"I've had a really good run as fast bowling goes, and I've been really well looked after, which has got me through this many Tests. I've bowled a lot over the last few years; something was bound to happen at some point, but hopefully get this right and won't miss too much cricket.

The second Test begins on December 4 in Brisbane. The third Ashes Test in Adelaide starts on December 17, and the fourth Test is on Boxing Day, another nine days after that.