Pat Cummins prioritises Ashes recovery over white-ball series against South Africa

‌Pat Cummins will miss Australia’s white-ball series against South Africa in August as the pacer focuses on his recovery ahead of a hectic Ashes series later this year. The pacer, who is currently in the Caribbean for the three-Test series against the West Indies, will captain his side in the third and final Test starting in Jamaica from Sunday. He will then take a break before returning to the national setup with the T20I series against New Zealand in October.

Australia is set to play the Proteas in three ODIs and three T20Is in Darwin, Cairns, and Mackay over a period of two weeks from August 10. With Cummins already being rested, along with Travis Head and Mitchell Starc for the West Indies T20Is, Australia have decided to add Josh Hazlewood to that list. Xavier Bartlett will replace Hazlewood in the squad while Jake Fraser-McGurk takes the place of injured Spencer Johnson.

"I'll have a good training block for the next couple of months, six weeks or so," Cummins told reporters at Sabina Park. "Probably not bowling, but lots of gym work. body feels pretty good, but there are always little bits and pieces you're always trying to get right and then build up for the summer. So it'll probably look like white-ball …we've got some [matches against] New Zealand, India, potentially a Shield game, and then into the home summer."

Australia start their hectic summer with a trip to Trans-Tasman rivals New Zealand for a three-match T20I series beginning on October 1 before welcoming India for a white-ball series. The Aussies will play three ODIs and five T20Is against the Men in Blue, with the much-awaited Ashes series kicking off at Perth on November 21.

"There's a lot of Shield cricket to come and some Aussie A stuff as well," Cummins said on the significance of red-ball cricket with the marquee five-Test series against England looming large. "I think you do well at Test level, any time it's going to kind of make your case more compelling. I think there's a bit of a connection to the summer, but it feels a long way away at the moment."