Pat Cummins: ’Australia don’t have to look too far back to find form’

The sea is angry today and so is Pat Cummins. A back injury ruled him out of four of five Ashes Tests this summer and it has now kiboshed his T20 World Cup hopes. “It’s annoying,” he says, sitting by Bronte beach, just a cover drive from his home. “I was very keen to play, and when we mapped out a plan for the Ashes and beyond, these T20s were a big part of it. But the scan shows a bit going on, and it needs four more weeks to settle down.”

It puts the Test captain on ice and means Australia enter the World Cup this week three pace titans down. Mitchell Starc has retired from T20s and Josh Hazlewood is battling a hamstring injury. That’s 182 games of experience missing. Instead, rookie quicks Xavier Bartlett, Ben Dwarsius and Nathan Ellis (64 games collectively) will step up. In a crammed cricket calendar such rotation is inevitable, Cummins says.

“You can’t play everything. Even us older players, who used to take a lot of convincing, recognise that we need periods each year to build or rebuild strength. Resting from a game or a series here or there means I can prioritise Tests. In the long run it means players get to play more cricket rather than playing until we break.”

Few know it better than Cummins. Back injuries meant a six-year delay between his first Test at 18 in 2011 and his second as a seasoned 24-year-old in 2017. “The older I’ve got the better I’ve managed my body and my feel for the game,” he says. “I know now when to push and when not to expend energy unnecessarily. With this injury, all the medical staff and coaches and I were aligned in agreeing not to meddle with it.”

But 72 Tests, 90 ODIs and 57 T20Is plus franchise cricket are taking a toll. Lumbar stress injuries like his often need 200 days recovery, but an “aggressive” six-week plan saw Cummins return to clinch the Ashes in Adelaide. And it has come at a cost. “We knew the risks,” he says, “but this rest is precautionary. If it was a World Cup final I’d probably play. But so much cricket is coming so I need to sort it out now.”

He’s not wrong. Australia will play 20 Tests in 10 months across 2026-27, starting with two Tests in the Top End against Bangladesh in August before a three-Test tour of South Africa in September, then a four-Test home summer against New Zealand. Next year is even bigger with a tour of India, an away Ashes series, and an ODI World Cup. For now, all eyes are on this 10th T20 World Cup, a 30-day tournament featuring 20 teams competing in 55 matches across five venues in India and three in Sri Lanka.

“T20 tournaments are always a bit funny,” Cummins says. “Here there’s five teams who have genuine chances to win it but any team can upset anyone at any stage. You just want to get through these first rounds unscathed to reach the Super 8s. That’s when you need guys fully fit and playing really good cricket. Yes, a few like Josh are still coming back to peak but most have had starring roles in the Big Bash.”

Australia must overcome Ireland, Zimbabwe, Sri Lanka and Oman in the pool stages. If they can nurse their wounded stars Hazlewood, spinner Adam Zampa (neck) and middle order powerhouse Tim David (hamstring) back to health inbetween, they will reach the Super 8s to face West Indies (23 Feb), India (26 Feb) and South Africa (1 March). Unfortunately, they have lost five straight, most recently a 3-0 whipping by Pakistan.

“They can shake that off,” Cummins says with a laugh. “We were terrible leading into the 2021 World Cup and still won it. Australia don’t have to look too far back to find form. Mitch Marsh and Travis Head are the most powerful opening bats in the world. Adam Zampa’s spin is a proven match-winner in Sri Lanka and India. And then there’s the middle order of Glenn Maxwell and Tim David, who can win games on their own.”

Like Steve Smith, who was “fantastic in the BBL and will be on the first flight over if anyone drops out of the top order”, Cummins will watch this World Cup from home. He still hopes to cash in a $3.6m deal to lead Sunrisers Hyderabad in the IPL starting 26 March and also to represent Australia in T20s at the 2028 Olympic Games. “Test cricket’s my favourite but there’s always lots of opportunity to flip between formats.”

He says Australia’s first Test tour to South Africa since “Sandpapergate” looms large. “They’re the world No 2 and just beat us in the 2025 World Test Championship so it’s going to be huge. South Africa is all about hard wickets, fast bowlers, brutal crowds. After the 2018 tour, there’ll be emotion for sure but we’re an experienced side and we tend to play best when we’re relaxed so we don’t need to go looking for fights.”

Only trophies. And maybe chiropractors.

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