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Cricket Australia have confirmed that Pat Cummins will miss the first Ashes Test against England in Perth.
The Aussie skipper, who has been struggling with a back injury, resumed bowling this week, but now faces a race against the clock to be fit for the second Test, which will commence on the fourth of December at The Gabba.
Cummins needs at least four weeks of bowling before he would be comfortable to play Tests again, national team coach Andrew McDonald said on Monday.
Speaking a few hours after a line was drawn through the skipper's name for the series opener in Perth starting on November 21, McDonald was bullish about Cummins' chances for the second Test in Brisbane.
'We've run out of time, unfortunately, but we're really optimistic and hopeful for the second Test match,' McDonald told reporters in Canberra.
'So I suppose the next question is, what's the time frame for the second Test?
Australia captain Pat Cummins has been ruled out of the first Ashes Test against England
The 32-year-old bowler has failed to overcome a back injury in time and is now racing against the clock to be fit fot the second Test against England at The Gabba
'We're not really going to be able to answer that, other than to say that he'll be back bowling this week, and that's a huge step.'
Former skipper Steve Smith will take over the captaincy in Cummins' absence.
While losing Cummins was a blow, McDonald was confident the team was in good hands under Smith, who has filled in on six occasions since Cummins became captain.
Australia's bowling depth also helped soften the loss of such a key figure.
'Losing your captain's not ideal, but when you talk about Scott Boland being a potential replacement, it's not a bad position to be in,' McDonald said.
'Ideally, we want our captain available for stability and decision-making. But as I said, Steve Smith will slide into that position. And yeah, I suppose you get excited about when he does come back, what an injection that will be to the group.'
It is the first of several big selection calls for the Australian team ahead of the first Test.
Mitchell Marsh has emerged as one player who could return to the Test fold, despite recently joking that he would be 'six beers deep' by lunchtime during the first Test in Perth.
Head coach Andrew McDonald said that Cummins (pictured) needed a few weeks back bowling again before he would be ready to play
Steve Smith will take the captaincy duties off Cummins (pictured) who has resumed bowling this week
The 34-year-old Western Australian all-rounder has excelled in the white ball format of late, picking up 867 runs in his last 10 ODI matches. Marsh also has a solid record against England. Across 10 Tests against the old enemy, he has scored 534 runs and taken 18 wickets.
'We would be comfortable picking someone, and if you want to put a name to it, Mitch Marsh, out of white ball cricket if we felt like that was going to benefit the Test team,' Andrew McDonald said.
'We feel he's batting as well as he has for a long period of time. And when he got dropped last summer, I think he was one of our highest averages from his reintroduction during the Ashes 2023, at Headingley to that point, he was going really well.
'He hit a bit of a flat patch there, and we felt the best at that time to bring Beau Webster in, and we still haven't given up on Mitch Marsh's Test career.'
The top order is a work in progress, with a partner for opener Usman Khawaja to be confirmed, and all-rounder Cameron Green is yet to return to full fitness after suffering a side strain.
But McDonald revealed 'positive news' on Green, who resumed bowling the day prior and was set to play in some capacity in the Sheffield Shield this week.
Fellow all-rounder Beau Webster and uncapped pace bowler Brendan Doggett also returned to Shield action, adding to the selectors' talent pool.
'So you start to build the picture when you see those guys returning, and hopefully there's some runs and some overs under their belts to get excited about,' McDonald said.
Mitchell Marsh (left) has also been re-added to the selection pool, following his strong form in the white ball format
Cameron Green (pictured) has also returning to bowl this week and should be fit to play for Western Australia in the coming week in the Sheffield Shield
Boland is a lock to join Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood as the pace attack for Perth, with Nathan Lyon the spin bowler.
In nine home Tests, Boland has taken 49 wickets at 12.63. The tourists will well remember his debut four years ago at the Boxing Day Test, when he rifled through their lineup to take 6-7 in a match-winning performance.
Khawaja said the team was excited for the Victorian.
'We love Scotty. We love having him in the team. He's a terrific bowler. He gets the crowd up and going too,' Khawaja said on Monday.
'He (Cummins) is the best bowler in the world.
'So it's disappointing, but we've always had really good cover, and we've played well even when he hasn't played.'
Smith, 36, is back in Australia after six weeks in New York. He will play for NSW in two Sheffield Shield matches before the first Test.
He said last week he was more relaxed than when he was the full-time captain between 2013 and 2017.
And he also knows his batting improves with the role, averaging 68.98 in the role compared with 49.90 when not captain.
