MELBOURNE, Australia CMC – An injury setback has ruined Australian teenaged fast-bowling sensation Pat Cummins’ dream of touring the Caribbean starting next month.
The 18-year-old was thought to be recovering from bone bruising in his heel when doctors discovered he was actually suffering with a fracture. He will now be out of action for a few months, ruling him out of any role on Australia’s Test and one-day series against West Indies.
“We’d been contemplating taking him through the West Indies in a development sense but his heel is not progressing quite smoothly,” chairman of selectors John Inverarity said this week.
“We would rather that he got to full fitness in his own time without the pressure of having to be ready for the T20s or having a deadline there. He fractured a bone in his heel and we want him to be 100 per cent fit.”
“As I understand it, it was thought to be a bruised heel, but further scans showed that there was a bit of a crack. It’s taking some time to heal.”
Cummins made a spectacular debut in his only Test to date, snatching a second innings six-wicket haul to help Australia to a two-wicket win over South Africa in the second Test in Johannesburg last November.
The New South Wales speedster was working his back to fitness with an eye on the Caribbean when the bad news came.
“He bowled at half-pace and was building up. Things were going well. But when he bowled at the end of last week it became sore again so I just don’t know whether it’s a light, temporary setback or something a little bit more,” Inverarity explained.