"Doing all he can": Starc confident of Cummins returning for Ashes

Nicholas Quinlan • October 9th, 2025 10:04 pm

Mitchell Starc believes that Australian captain Pat Cummins will be doing all that he can to ensure that he is ready for the upcoming Ashes series.

Cummins has been sidelined from bowling training following a back stress injury sustained during the West Indies series.

That injury has now put him in doubt for the First Test against England and potentially for an extended period of the series.

But the left-handed paceman is confident that Cummins will be trying his hardest to prove that he is fit for this series.

“He’s doing his physical work, obviously, he’s not bowling at the minute but in great spirits,” Starc said on SEN 1170’s The Run Home.

“One thing I know of Patty is that he’ll be doing all he can to either be ready for the First Test or play as much as he can throughout the series.

“The first I heard of him being ruled out was through the media. So, as far as I am concerned, I don’t know how much truth there is to that.

“I know he is doing all he can to be ready to go. There is still a few weeks to go, so fingers crossed he’s playing a big role through the summer.

“But I know he is doing all he can (to get fit).”

Starc has also revealed that some of his preparation plans to ensure that he is fit and firing with a return to the Sheffield Shield on his cards.

“At this stage, we get on a plane to Perth on Wednesday. We’ve got those three ODIs against India,” he explained.

“And with me now not playing T20 cricket (internationally), I’ll slot in for a Shield game in Sydney and then we are back on a plane to Perth to get ready for the test series.”

That would mean that his likely Sheffield Shield return would be against Victoria at the Sydney Cricket Ground on November 10.

The three-match one-day series against India, for which Starc has been selected, begins on October 19 at Optus Stadium in Perth.

The Ashes will begin at the same location on November 21.

SEN will have live coverage of every ball of both series alongside the T20 series against India, beginning from October 29.