Australia’s cricket captain, Pat Cummins, has expressed confidence in his recovery from a lower back injury, stating he is “on track” to participate in the second Test of the Ashes series against England. The 32-year-old pace bowler has been sidelined since the conclusion of a Test series in the West Indies in July and will miss the opening Test in Perth, commencing on 21 November. Cummins has resumed bowling with a reduced run-up as part of his rehabilitation and is targeting a return for the day-night match in Brisbane, starting on 4 December. “It’s all feeling really good. On track and yeah, probably better than I expected,” Cummins remarked. He added that each session is incremental, and he anticipates being close to a full run-up once he arrives in Perth. In Cummins’ absence, Steve Smith, who was stripped of the captaincy in 2018 following a ball-tampering scandal, will lead Australia in the first Test. Cummins, who has taken 91 wickets against England in 19 Tests, remains cautious about his workload post-recovery, stating, “I don’t really want to commit to anything this far out. I’m pretty keen to play as much as I can.” Australia’s pace attack in Perth is expected to feature Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood, and Scott Boland, all aged 34 and above.