Australia captain Pat Cummins is back bowling multiple overs on a reduced run-up and has targeted returning to the team for the second Ashes Test against England, a day-nighter in Brisbane starting on 4 December.
The fast bowler has been sidelined by a lower-back issue since July and has already been ruled out of the series opener in Perth, where he will be replaced as skipper by Steve Smith.
Scott Boland is expected to step in for the 32-year-old in the pace attack in Perth but Cummins said he was on track to pick up the pink ball at the Gabba a week later.
“That’s the aim and we’re building our plan to the second Test,” Cummins said. “It’s probably not until you get a bit closer that you can really know where you’re at. The good thing is that I’m pulling up well and the body is great.
“We’re trying to keep that second Test as a live option. I’ll have a really good bowl in Perth, and by then I’ll know where I’m at.”
Cummins, who has been ever-present in the Australia side for Ashes clashes since playing his first Test against England in the 2017-18 series, said there was still uncertainty about how much of a role he would be able to play over the series.
“I don’t really want to commit to anything this far out. I’m pretty keen to play as much as I can,” Cummins said.
“But realistically, if we have a big game and bowl 40 or 50 overs and then there’s a game that starts a few days later, it might be a bridge too far. I’m trying to get right, and if I get right then hopefully I’ll try to play most of it as I can.“
There is a four-day gap between the conclusion of the third Test in Adelaide and the fourth in Melbourne with another four-day break before the fifth and final Test in Sydney.
Australia named their squad for the first Test on Wednesday with Josh Hazlewood, Mitchell Starc, Boland, Sean Abbott and Brendan Doggett the fast-bowling options.
Meanwhile, Cummins launched a defence of Australia’s selectors, rejecting Steve Waugh’s concerns over the looming transition of the Test side.
Waugh created headlines on Wednesday when he accused chief selector George Bailey of rarely having the appetite to make tough calls needed for an aging side.
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The Test great also said players should not be publicly pushing teammates for selection, adamant that was a job for only Bailey and his panel.
But Cummins stressed on Thursday that he did not feel the players held any power, selectors had generally “been on the money” with their calls and the use of white-ball cricket and Australia A tours had the team set up for the future.
“I think the selectors have done a great job of managing the transition,” the injured Test captain said. “One-day cricket, T20 cricket, Aussie A, there is Shield cricket. There are many pathways to upskill the next guys who will debut for Australia down the track.
“We’ve been really fortunate that a lot of our guys have probably played longer in their careers than perhaps previous guys have. So we haven’t had that churn. It was the same conversation three or four years ago, saying the end is close. But some of these guys, the way they look after themselves … They’re amazing.”
