Injury to Australian fast bowler a reminder of the tightrope challenges ahead

There’s much talk about the depth of Australia’s fast bowlers, and for good reason, but that depth is currently being tested with a lengthy list of injuries and absences during the limited-overs tour of England.

“A lot of our priorities will be centred around that,” Australia coach Andrew McDonald said. Sen “That will come out in player management, we will be very strict in dictating who does what. [Sheffield] Shield cricket will take place in the summer to ensure we are ready for the first Test match.”

Starc will take part in the ODI series in England but will be closely monitored throughout the matches, while Cummins has remained at home to improve his fitness and conditioning, and with the series being played over just 11 days it would be a surprise to see Hazlewood play more than three of the one-day matches, although the cancellation of the Manchester match allows for some rest.

“You don’t really have a lot of time off in the calendar unless you make it,” Cummins said of missing the England tour last month. “The medical staff, the coaching staff and everybody thought this was a good opportunity for my body to take a month or so off bowling, get fit and hopefully be in as good a position as possible going into the five Test matches.”

The long list of injuries to Australia’s pace bowlers is a reminder of the incredible resilience of Cummins, Starc and, more recently, Hazlewood, but also that it doesn’t take long for the best-laid plans to unravel. None of the Test matches last season were completed in five days, and Australia also played in the ODI World Cup except for one game, in which Starc was rested, against Pakistan, West Indies and New Zealand.

Cummins has missed just one Test match through injury since 2018; the other two were due to COVID-19 and special leave. Starc missed three consecutive matches against South Africa and India in early 2023 with a finger injury and also missed the first Ashes Test match at Edgbaston, but he has been almost as durable as Starc, bowling through a variety of injuries. Meanwhile, Hazlewood has been on the field throughout the two years between 2021 and 2023, playing just three Test matches apart from a rest at Headingley in last year’s Ashes.

Even first-back Boland, who has a home Test average of 12.21, expected to be available at some point last season. “I thought I’d be playing at some stage,” he said. cricket“The coaches and selection committee members were saying, ‘You’ll probably get an opportunity at some stage, so be ready.'”

“It’s difficult, especially when you’re thinking, ‘It’s seven Tests, I’ll get a chance someday.’ [the big three] They are very tenacious and beat bowling teams quickly so they don’t need much of a break.”

For now, the injuries are a disappointment for those touring England and more of a tightrope walk for the selectors to fill than an immediate concern for the India series, but Australia’s bowling depth, of which there is much to boast, could be heading into a crucial summer.