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Pat Cummins is fresh back from the latest in a string of injury layoffs. Yet already the 21-year-old’s name is being linked to anything from the upcoming 50-over World Cup to next year’s Ashes.
Here’s the thing, Australia do not need Cummins right now. There is such a wealth of talented pacemen in the country that they can afford to let the speedster grow into his lanky frame.
But every time he returns from yet another injury there are pundits and fans keen to catapult him straight back into international cricket.
Cummins is so physically fragile that since his Test debut nearly three years ago he has managed to play just three first-class games.
The excitement over the New South Welshman is understandable. His one and only Test match was extraordinary. As an 18-year-old he snared match figures of 7-117, away from home, against a South African batting line-up featuring Jacques Kallis, Hashim Amla, AB de Villiers and Graeme Smith.
Cummins swung the ball consistently and pushed the speed gun to almost 150 kilometres per hour. Most significantly, he worked over one of the greatest batsman in history in Kallis, who was a masterful player of pace.
Cummins rattled the South African legend with a vicious short ball and then over a succession of deliveries drew him further and further away from his off stump. The sequence of brilliance and guile ended with Kallis fending at a length delivery just outside off to provide Michael Clarke with a catch at first slip.
Cummins’ efforts left his opponents, teammates and esteemed pundits flabbergasted. Kallis, a reserved man not known for offering up lavish praise, said after the match he believed Cummins had a “big future”.
He certainly does. Cummins has the potential to be one of the best bowlers in world cricket. But he’s still very young. Consider this list of bowlers who had not even made their Test debut at 21: Shane Warne, Glenn McGrath, Curtly Ambrose, Courtney Walsh, Richard Hadlee and Shaun Pollock.
They are some of the greatest bowlers of all time. There is no rush with Cummins. If handled properly he could still be playing international cricket in 2026. How about letting him play more than two domestic games in a row without breaking down before vaulting him back into international cricket?
Few Australian cricketers in recent history have been as physically fragile as Cummins. His still-developing back has been wrecked by the unnatural task of ferociously propelling a cricket ball 22 yards.
He is in good company. A host of emerging Aussie quicks, including James Pattinson, Mitchell Starc, Jackson Bird and Josh Hazlewood have all had to endure regular injury setbacks. Pattinson has made a smart move, effectively ruling himself out of Test cricket until the end of this Australian summer as he attempts to remodel his action and become less injury-prone.
He said in June this year that any international cricket he played before next year’s Ashes in England would be “a bonus”.
“It’s good not to be rushed,” he told Fairfax Media.
“The last few times I’ve been injured I’ve had series to come back for really quickly. Obviously South Africa was a really big series, against the number one team in the world, so I wanted to play that.
“Looking back in hindsight, it (my back) has flared up again, so I could have had a longer break. I’ve got an opportunity to do that now, work on my action and my physical strength to hopefully come back this summer. Hopefully, that will be the end of it.
“I want to make sure I get it right now, being 24 and still young. The last thing I want to do is get to 26, 27 where I’m near my peak and it’s coming back again.”
They were wise words from the dynamic Victorian quick. At the moment Australia have the luxury of boasting three accomplished veteran Test paceman in Mitchell Johnson, Ryan Harris and Peter Siddle.
Harris, of course, is on the comeback from a serious knee operation and his future is unknown. But Johnson and Siddle look likely to be around for at least another two years.
During that time, the likes of Pattinson and Cummins can be allowed time to work on their actions and bolster their bodies. Hopefully for Australia, by the time their experienced quicks are finished the likes of Pattinson, Cummins, Starc and Hazlewood will be fit and prepared for Test cricket.
Cummins finally dropped out of Cricket Australia’s central contract list in April, after being retained throughout his injury-plagued career.
This may be an indication that Cricket Australia intends to let Cummins develop quietly out of the spotlight. It would be a tragedy to see him lose his rare pace and menace as a result of trying to fight against the clear message being sent by his young body.