Australia's Ashes campaign set to continue without Cummins, uncertainty over T20 World Cup too; confirms head coach Andrew McDonald

Melbourne [Australia], December 23 (ANI): Australia's Ashes campaign is set to continue without skipper Pat Cummins, who won't feature again in the series due to his ongoing back injury. The selectors and medical staff are being cautious, and there's also uncertainty about his availability for the T20 World Cup in February.
On Tuesday morning, it was confirmed, as Cummins had flagged after Adelaide, that he would sit out in the fourth Test against England. Australia Head coach Andrew McDonald said a few hours later that Cummins' series was over after one appearance, which helped secure the Ashes.
McDonald also said before the announcement of Australia's T20 World Cup squad that Cummins would undergo a check-in scan to assess his progress, and that his participation is 'quite grey' at the moment.
"He's pulled up fine. He won't play any part in the rest of the series, and that was a discussion that we had a long time out around his return," McDonald said as per ESPNcricinfo.
"We were taking on some risk, and people that reported on that would understand the risk associated with that rebuild. We've now won the series, and that was the goal. So, to position him for further risk and jeopardise him long-term is not something that we want to do, and Pat's really comfortable with that," he added.
"That'll be an assessment," McDonald said of Cummins' T20 World Cup chances. "I'm assuming he'll have a check-in scan at some point and gather more information around where his back is at... looking forward to the World Cup, whether he'll be there or not. I can't really say. It's quite grey at the moment. We're hopeful," McDonald concluded.
Cummins was diagnosed with a lumbar stress reaction after the tour of the West Indies, but following an aggressive rehab programme, he bowled brilliantly in the third Ashes Test against England, where he claimed six wickets as Australia won by 82 runs and secured the series.
Seamer Jhye Richardson has been drafted into the squad in place of Cummins and will come into contention for the fourth Test of the series. Richardson last played a Test during the 2021-22 Ashes. Steve Smith will lead the side in the absence of Cummins. Cummins has not played a T20I for Australia since the 2024 T20 World Cup in the Caribbean and the USA.
Australia squad (fourth Test only): Steve Smith (c), Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Brendan Doggett, Cameron Green, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Todd Murphy, Michael Neser, Jhye Richardson, Mitchell Starc, Jake Weatherald, Beau Webster. (ANI)