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How to tune into Sport NationPink ball clue: Promising signs as Cummins pushes for return
SEN • November 26th, 2025 11:14 am
Australian captain Pat Cummins is pushing for a second Test return after being spotted bowling with a pink ball in Sydney on Tuesday.
Cummins missed the first Test win in Perth as he continued his build-up from a back stress injury, and while it was initially feared he could miss the entire series, he could now be back for Brisbane.
After bowling in the nets last week in Perth, Aussie fans would have been thrilled to see Cummins bowling with a pink ball this time around given the Gabba Test is a day/night fixture.
Code Sports’ Dan Cherny thinks the big clue proves the skipper is a ‘very good chance’, although he expects Australia to leave the call on whether to play Cummins or not until the eve of Day 1 which is set for next Thursday.
“I think it means he's a very good chance. I wouldn't lock him in for sure, though,” Cherny said on SEN Breakfast.
“I think they will leave it until relatively late, but it's clearly a promising sign.
“It’s been a really great fight back. I think there were legitimate fears that he would miss much of the summer.
“Certainly the first Test is still a fair blow, but obviously Australia's managed to get through that, and now he is pushing for that second Test.
“But as Andrew McDonald said on Monday, I think they are going to leave it relatively late.
“I think there is still an element of risk there just because he hasn't had the full build-up. It's probably not so much the back, it's sort of the other soft tissue stuff that can come without having an ideal preparation, which you couldn't say it has been.
“I was in Perth and saw him in the nets last week, and he looked very good, and that’s certainly what his teammates were saying as well.
“The pink ball's a fair sign that they're giving it serious thought.”
Bowling with Cummins at Cricket NSW headquarters was fellow injured quick Josh Hazlewood.
Hazlewood is returning from a hamstring injury, which also cost him a first Test berth, and while it was also feared he could miss the entire series, his return to bowling was also a great sign for the home side.
Unlike Cummins, Hazlewood was training with red balls, potentially proving that he’s hoping to return for the Adelaide Test which is three weeks away.
“By all reports, it's just good to see him bowling at all,” Cherny said.
“He's a bit further back in terms of building back for the series. But again, last week there was talk about him potentially being ruled out of the series, but McDonald flatly rejected that on Monday.
“The fact that Hazlewood's back bowling is a fair sign that he is building, and clearly, while the Test series these days are relatively rapid, we’ve still got five or six weeks for him to play a part in the series.
“He's no chance for Brisbane, but I think Adelaide's not beyond the realms of possibility. Boxing Day’s a month away, and then there’s Sydney after that.
“So, I think there's certainly scope for him to play a role in the series, but we are probably talking towards the back end.”
The second Test between Australia and England at the Gabba begins on Thursday, December 4. Listen to every ball LIVE on SEN - your home of cricket.
