Forgotten star and uncapped bolter headline candidates for Aussie Ashes reinforcement

Australian selectors may be required to call up reinforcement for the Ashes series if captain Pat Cummins misses one or more Test matches this summer due to his back concerns.

Earlier this week, Cricket Australia confirmed that Cummins was nursing a hot spot in his back, with the fast bowler in a race against clock to recover for November’s Ashes opener in Perth.

Chief selector George Bailey was confident Cummins would be ready for the first Test against England, while the New South Welshman couldn’t guarantee he’d be back to 100 per cent fitness for the series opener.

“That would be devastating, so we’ll be doing everything we can to try to be right for that … do the rehab right and give it a good crack,” Cummins told reporters in Brisbane on Wednesday.

“It’s a big Ashes series. It doesn’t get much bigger, so I think you’re willing to take a few risks and be a little bit aggressive to try and play as much Test (cricket) as you can.”

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Cummins has been ruled out of Australia’s T20 tour of New Zealand and the upcoming white-ball series against India, with the 32-year-old casting doubt over whether he’d play any Sheffield Shield matches for New South Wales before the Ashes.

“I’m pretty confident even if I don’t get a chance to play a Shield game, I’ll get up to speed,” he continued.

If Cummins were unavailable for any of the Ashes Tests, Victorian seamer Scott Boland would automatically slot into the Australian starting XI, but the hosts would almost certainly need to add an additional fast bowler to the squad as injury cover.

Josh Hazlewood, who turns 35 this summer, missed three Tests of last season’s Border-Gavaskar Trophy due to injury, while Mitchell Starc and Boland are both entering the twilight of their international careers.

The leading candidate to join Australia’s Ashes squad would be seamer Brendan Doggett, who was selected as a travelling reserve for June’s World Test Championship final against South Africa at Lord’s. However, the 31-year-old missed the recent West Indies tour in the Caribbean due to a minor hip issue, from which he has since recovered.

The uncapped Doggett earned a Test call-up last summer after taking 6-15 for Australia A during a trial match against India A in Mackay, while in March he was named player of the Sheffield Shield final after taking 11 wickets against Queensland in Adelaide, breaking a 29-year title drought for the South Australians.

New South Wales quick Sean Abbott, a regular in the national white-ball teams, replaced Doggett in Australia’s Test squad for the West Indies tour at the eleventh hour, but didn’t end up playing a match. The uncapped 33-year-old, who lost his national contract earlier this year, has been on the verge of a Test debut since earning his maiden call-up five years ago, but a coveted baggy green has continued to elude him.

Abbott claimed 6-99 with the pink Kookaburra during his most recent first-class match, a day-night Sheffield Shield contest against Tasmania in Hobart in March, taking 19 wickets at 21.94 for the Blues last summer.

Elsewhere, Queensland veteran Michael Neser has become the forgotten man of Australian cricket since Boland’s unforgettable Test debut the MCG in 2021.

Neser was the Test side’s perennial 12th man for several years before gradually slipping down the pecking order; the 35-year-old hasn’t added to his two Test caps since December 2022.

However, the right-armer has continued to produce impressive performances in the Sheffield Shield, last summer taking 31 wickets at 20.90 for the Bulls despite an untimely hamstring injury. Pending conditions, he could be a candidate for the pink-ball day-night Test in Brisbane if required.

The injury-prone Jhye Richardson will also come into consideration this summer – if he can prove his fitness. The West Australian seamer, who who has unfortunate history of injury setbacks, underwent surgery on his shoulder earlier this year, with an exact return date yet to be confirmed.

However, Bailey confirmed Richardson’s recovery was going well, flagging the potential for a Test call-up at some stage during the Ashes campaign.

The 28-year-old claimed a maiden five-wicket haul during his most recent Test appearance, Australia’s victory over England at Adelaide Oval in December 2021.

“We always talk about we need a lot of depth,” Cummins said.

“We’ve been lucky in the last couple of years – we haven’t had to go past the four guys really, but guys like Sean Abbott and (Brendan Doggett), there’s four or five guys.

“Neser’s been around, Jhye Richardson, there’s guys who’ve been around the Test team the past few years, and haven’t had too many opportunities, but hopefully the other three are fighting fit, plus me, and we’ve got plenty of resources.”

West Australian speedster Lance Morris, regarded as one of the fast bowlers in the country, has been ruled out of the entire summer due to back surgery, while fellow seamer Spencer Johnson isn’t expected to recover from his back injury until December at the earliest.

Victorian young gun Fergus O’Neill headlines a list of Test smokies who could come into consideration at some stage during the Ashes summer.

The 24-year-old was the County Championship’s leading wicket-taker during his recent stint at Nottinghamshire with 21 scalps at 17.90, taking five-wicket hauls against Durham and Warwickshire including a career-best 5-19 at Edgbaston.

Earlier this year, O’Neill was named the Sheffield Shield player of the season after snaring 38 wickets at 21.07, while the previous summer he received the prestigious Bradman Young Cricketer of the Year award for his 40 scalps at 17.25.

Only one cricketer has taken more Sheffield Shield wickets since O’Neill made his his first-class debut in October 2022 – Nathan McAndrew.

The 32-year-old quick reinvigorated his career since moving from New South Wales to South Australia in 2021. He was the Sheffield Shield’s leading wicket-taker last summer with 40 wickets at 20.20, including career-best figures of 7-11 against reigning champions Western Australia in Perth.

Having made a promising start to his ODI career, Queensland seamer Xavier Bartlett could put himself in contention for an Ashes call-up with a strong start to the Sheffield Shield season.

However, the 26-year-old may not get many opportunities to press his case for Test selection over the coming couple of months; he was selected for Australia’s T20 tour of New Zealand and will likely feature in the following white-ball series against India.

Bartlett has played eight Sheffield Shield matches for the Bulls over the last 24 months, taking 19 wickets.

Despite being a fair way down the pecking order, Western Australia’s Joel Paris and South Australia’s Henry Thornton have continued to turn heads at domestic level, while Under-19 World Cup champions Callum Vidler, Tom Straker and Mahli Beardman headline the next generation of Australian quicks. However, the young trio are unlikely to be unleashed this summer.