Mitchell Starc discusses injury, and replacements, Scott Boland

Australian skipper Pat Cummins is in good spirits and remains optimistic of having a significant impact in the Ashes, his fast bowling mate Mitchell Starc said on Thursday.

Cummins appears certain to miss the opening Test this summer as he recovers from a lower back problem, with the champion yet to be cleared to resume bowling, but Starc said the Aussie skipper is able to find peak form and fitness quickly.

Starc, who has signed on to play BBL for the Sydney Sixers for the first time in more than a decade, said Cummins has been in attendance at recent training sessions in Sydney as he retains his core fitness leading into the summer.

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It is understood the star bowler has been doing strength work with his legs but is being held back from any rotational work. The back problem aside, Cummins has endured soft tissue and ankle issues in recent years and will be keen to minimise a potential flare up when he is finally cleared to begin bowling again.

“He’s pretty level. He’s been floating around a little bit. Pat is still in his program and has obviously got a few sets of eyes on him in his return,” Starc said.

“He’s in good spirits. He’s ultra positive as always. There’s still some weeks to go before we get to Perth for the Test prep. We’ll see where that lands. Hopefully, we’ll see a lot of him through the summer and we’ll see what we can do.”

Cummins opted for a lighter lead-in to the Border-Gavaskar Trophy series last summer and, although perhaps underdone in the first Test, was able to fire when leading Australia to success in that series.

Starc is confident that once he is able to bowl again, it will not take long for the 31-year-old to find his peak again.

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“I found one thing playing with Pat and being close with Pat, he doesn’t need much. Whether he bowls three warm-up balls, (the) first over the game he’s on the money,” Starc said.

“He just knows when to switch on or how to switch on really quickly. Whatever it looks like for him in his prep, it’s going to be certainly different to what mine feels and looks like. That comes with experience and age.

“No doubt we’ll all, not just myself or Pat, we’ll all in the squad be preparing slightly differently, playing different games or amounts of cricket, heading into the very important Test series.”

Jhye Richardson is among those hopeful of being available for Ashes duties by midway through this summer’s series as he too recovers from injury but is confident Scott Boland will shoulder the load with distinction in Cummins absence.

The Western Australian, who is back bowling after shoulder surgery but is yet to hit top pace as he eyes off a return to domestic cricket late next month, said the situation surrounding the Australian captain was unfortunate.

But Richardson, who took five wickets against England in his most recent Test outing for Australia in Adelaide in 2021 and has 11 wickets in three matches for his country, has no concerns about the nation’s depth.

“I think if Scotty is the one to come in straight away, I think he’s proven. When he does get his opportunity, he grabs it with both hands,” he said.

“So there’s no doubt that I think this Australian setup, who it has or who it doesn’t have, is going to be competitive no matter what. And I think it being an Ashes series just … drives everyone just that little bit more.

“So I think no matter who it is coming into the squad or coming into the team, (there is) absolutely full faith that they’re going to get the job done.”

Starc said the Australian attack had approached recent series as a quartet, rather than simply as the Big 3, and is confident the Victoria star will deliver with distinction again on home soil.

“Certainly in recent years, it’s always been a squad mentality or a group mentality in terms of particular bowlers and knowing how much hard work it is,” Starc said.

“Obviously we’re not a young group anymore, but I think everyone knows the skills and the ability of Scott Boland. Whether you’ve seen him light up the MCG or seen him for years for Victoria.

“We know the skill set that he offers. He’s such a fantastic character. His ability is amazing and quite rightly a Test-match winning bowler. If he’s called upon for a lot more Test cricket, what a man. They’ll build him a statue sooner.”

Victorian captain Will Sutherland, who has just returned from an Australia A tour of India, said Boland is expected to play in two of the state’s next three Sheffield Shield outings leading into the opening Test in Perth on November 21.

“I don’t think I’m giving anything away there (because) it was three out of four to start the season for his prep,” Sutherland said.

“We’re very lucky to have the big bowler whenever we can.”

The potential prolonged absence of Cummins has raised queries as to who will captain in his absence, but Australian star Glenn Maxwell believes there is no doubt Steve Smith will assume the role.

The champion batter captained in Cummins’ absence from the Sri Lanka tour this year and led with distinction eight years after losing the role in the aftermath of the debacle that unfolded in South Africa seven years ago.

While Starc was in Sydney, Richardson and his peers were speaking at the launch of the 2025-26 Big Bash League in Melbourne on Thursday and one needed only to glance around Southbank to understand just how testing cricket can be.

Richardson is recovering from a shoulder reconstruction. Sutherland was unable to bowl for a period last year due to a side strain.

White ball star Spencer Johnson, who is currently sidelined with stress fractures in his back, was also in attendance.

Maxwell, meanwhile, is recovering from yet another injury after his arm was broken when he was struck by a powerful shot from Mitch Owens while bowling to the Tasmanian in the nets prior to the recent New Zealand T20 series.

The issue Cummins and co are experiencing is, Richardson said, “part and parcel” of bowling but the 29-year-old was unable to identify a significant contributing factor.

“I think you have to expect it at some stage. It happens to a lot of fast bowlers. It’s very rare that fast bowlers go through their career without having some sort of setback,” he said.

“So I think it’s difficult to say whether it is or isn’t, you know, (something) to do with sport science, with the rotation and with the amount of games.

“I think there’s an element of everything. I think there’s an argument to every sort of aspect of fast bowling which could contribute to an injury. It is a bit above my pay grade to comment on why or why we don’t get injured.”

Johnson, who is still hopeful of being able to participate in the T20 World Cup next February and March in India and Sri Lanka, said it was frustrating to be sidelined given the amount of international opportunities coming up.

Australia will begin an intriguing white ball series against India in just over a week preceding the Ashes against England, with the T20 World Cup now four months away.

“It’s never great timing being injured. Unfortunately, especially in this calendar year, there’s plenty of white ball cricket,” he said.

“Regardless of the back, I was planning on staying here in the winter and making sure this summer was a big one, hopefully for Australia. Unfortunately it wasn’t to be, but there’s always opportunities.

“There’s still plenty of cricket to play post Christmas, and there’s obviously a T20 World Cup, which is something I’d love to be a part of. But unfortunately, in the short term, it’s not ideal.”

In an interview with Melbourne radio station Eastern FM, Australian selector Tony Dodemaide identified Brendon Doggett, Michael Neser and Sean Abbott as the leading reserves should further misfortune strike the Australian attack this summer.

Doggett, who was part of the squad for this year’s World Test Championship final and the tour of the West Indies before sustaining a hip injury, missed South Australia’s Shield opener against Victoria with a hamstring injury.

The 31-year-old is also set to miss next week’s clash with Queensland with the same issue in a major blow to his hopes of another national call-up, according to News Corp.

Starc flagged the trio mentioned by Dodemaide as well and noted that Richardson, should he reach peak fitness, is a clear option as well given the talent he has shown when representing Australia in the Test arena.

“I certainly think there’s enough experience around Australian cricket. There’s always guys at different levels, different age groups, guys that have been in and around the squad a fair bit,” he said.

“At times like these you might unearth someone. I know there’s been a little bit of noise around Jhye Richardson coming back from his shoulder as well. We know what skills he has.

“The landscape can change in three Shield games. As it sits, Josh, Pat, Scotty and I have been preparing for the summer to come in the red-ball game (but) I think the depth is there.

“We’ve obviously got different age groups across the depth. Obviously we’ve got a fairly talented group of 19, 20-year-old bowlers and then a lot of depth from there up to us that have played a lot of domestic cricket. I think we’ve got a good group of guys that you’ve called upon who will take that opportunity with two hands.”

Sutherland made a case for his Victorian teammate Fergus O’Neill, who has been superb in domestic cricket in recent years and shapes as an Ashes smokey.

Concerns have been raised about the pace O’Neill is capable of producing but his skipper does not believe that his lack of explosiveness will prevent him from succeeding should he be given a chance at international level.

“I don’t think so, personally. Whatever level he has played at, he seems to do well. He keeps finding a way to perform,” Sutherland said.

“Obviously the Test wickets are a little bit flatter, so ball speed can come into it a little bit more. But he is so skilful. In County cricket, T20s, Shield stuff, he keeps getting it done.

“He has taken wickets on some flatter pitches as well and he is working on a bouncer as well, and he is always trying to pick up a few (extra) Ks (of pace). I have no doubt he will find a way if called upon. He is a super, super talent.”

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