Pat Cummins expected to be available for ODI World Cup despite wrist injury

• Pat Cummins fractured his wrist during the final Ashes Test.
• He is expected to be available for the World Cup in October.
• Australia’s World Cup squad will be narrowed down to 15.

Pat Cummins, Australia’s one-day captain, is set to undergo a six-week recovery period due to a fractured wrist sustained during the final Ashes Test.

Although he will miss the T20I series in South Africa and some ODIs, Cummins is expected to be available for part of the ODIs in South Africa and India leading up to the World Cup in October.

Cummins, who has captained only two ODIs since being appointed captain last year, suffered the wrist injury while diving during the fifth Test at The Oval.

Despite completing the Test, he requires an extended healing period, forcing him to sit out the T20I series in South Africa starting on August 30 and the ensuing five-match ODI series from September 7.

Australia’s ODI squad for the upcoming tours and the World Cup will not include Marnus Labuschagne, who has played in the team’s last nine ODIs and 30 over the past three years.

The 18-player squad sees newcomers Tanveer Sangha, a legspinner from New South Wales, and Western Australia allrounder Aaron Hardie. Both players are yet to debut at the international level but have the opportunity to vie for a spot in the final World Cup squad.

Sangha has been recovering from a back stress fracture since August of the previous year but has previous experience touring with an Australia T20 squad in New Zealand. Aaron Hardie, on the other hand, has been a regular in Australia A squads and is also part of the T20I squad for the South Africa series.

Mitchell Marsh will captain the T20I series against South Africa, with several key players including Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood, Cameron Green, David Warner, and Ashton Agar missing the T20 leg before rejoining the squad for the ODIs.

Glenn Maxwell will sit out the South Africa ODI series due to paternity leave after the T20Is. He is set to rejoin the squad for the three-match series against India in India, immediately followed by the 50-over World Cup starting on September 22.

While Cummins will travel to South Africa for the first ODI, his recovery timeline suggests that he might not be available for the initial match in Bloemfontein.

In Cummins’ absence, potential candidates for ODI captaincy include Steven Smith, who led the team during the last ODI series in India in March, when Cummins was absent due to his mother’s passing. Josh Hazlewood and Alex Carey have also previously captained the ODI team.

George Bailey, Chair of Selectors, views Cummins’ injury as a positive development, allowing him to rest after a demanding Ashes workload. He remains optimistic that Cummins will have ample time to prepare for the World Cup, which kicks off on October 8.

“He has an undisplaced fracture of his left radius which requires six weeks rehabilitation,” Bailey said. “We expect him to join the squad during the South African ODI series. We view a period of enforced rest for Pat as a positive ahead of this important World Cup campaign.

“There are still a number of games he could play before the World Cup which is more than enough for him to have a strong preparation.”

Australia’s World Cup squad does not include Marnus Labuschagne, who has been a regular in the ODI team for the past three years. Despite his promising start, which included a century in his sixth match against South Africa in 2020, Labuschagne has struggled to establish a consistent place in the middle order. In his last 14 ODI innings, he averaged 22.30 and had a strike rate of 69.87 with only two half-centuries.

Chair of Selectors George Bailey noted that while Labuschagne has the potential to be a valuable asset to the one-day team, his performance has not been consistent enough in the desired role.

Bailey emphasized that Labuschagne will have the opportunity to focus on white-ball cricket by participating in Australia A games alongside the World Cup preparation.

The Australian squad, initially comprising 18 players, will be narrowed down to 15 in early September, with the possibility of further changes allowed until September 28.

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