With Pat Cummins still not certain for the second Ashes Test at Brisbane and Josh Hazelwood too being sidelined for the initial part of the Ashes due to a hamstring injury, this year’s Ashes series between Australia and England began without the two premier pace bowlers. With Steve Smith acting as a captain in the absence of Cummins, who was recovering from a bone strep injury in his lower back, in the first Test at Perth, Australian selectors are waiting to take a call about Cummins’ return for the second Test by Wednesday afternoon. Former Australian captain Greg Chappell has given his take on fast bowlers suffering repeated injuries.
“A couple of weeks ago, as Australia began the Ashes without Pat Cummins and Josh Hazelwood- two of the finest fast bowlers of their generation – the old conversation resurfaced: why do fast bowlers break down so often, and what, if anything, can be done about it?The brutal truth is that bowling seriously fast means living permanently on the edge of what the skeleton, soft tissue, ligaments, tendons and nervous system can endure. Speed comes at a price, and the bill usually arrives in two instalments: once in adolescence, when bones are still growing, and then around 30, when the years of accumulated impact finally catch up,” Chappell wrote on ESPNCricinfo.
Cummins, who led Australia to a win over India in the Border Gavaskar Trophy earlier this year, had missed the Champions Trophy due to an ankle injury suffered during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy and also missed the Sri Lanka Tour. Cummins last played for Australia in the West Indies in July before he could not feature in the white-ball series against South Africa and India at home and during the New Zealand tour. Hazelwood, who too was sidelined from the Champions Trophy due to a hip injury, too had his share of injuries in the past with the hamstring injury being the latest. Chappell talked about how pacers like Dennis Lille, Dale Steyn along with the likes of Jasprit Bumrah and Cameron Green had their share of injuries and surgeries and how very few pacers avoided the inevitable. “History is littered with similar stories. Dennis Lillee was told in 1973 that multiple spinal stress fractures had ended his career. A relentless two-year schedule with no proper off season had broken him. He rebuilt himself through pioneering strength work, remodelled his action and returned stronger, eventually claiming a world-record tally. I know no one with such iron will. Dale Steyn, among the most electrifying bowlers of the 21st century, alongside Jasprit Bumrah, Mark Wood and Kagiso Rabada, fractured part of his shoulder blade in 2016; the screw inserted to fix it marked the beginning of the end, sadly. Bumrah and Cameron Green have recently undergone surgery involving screws and titanium wire to bind vertebrae together to stabilise stress fractures. Very few men of pace seem to avoid the inevitable,” Chappell added.
The former Australian captain also talked about bowlers like Jeff Thompson, Glenn McGrath and Courtney Walsh’s having long careers and how the bowlers also made some changes to prolong their careers. “The almost indestructible Jeff Thomson-owner of the most efficient, whip-like side-on action ever seen – only suffered one serious injury in his career, and that came from colliding with a fieldsman, not from bowling itself. Ironically, when being scanned for something else, it was discovered that he had had three undiagnosed stress fractures. One can assume that he was on the verge of joining the statistics when an off-season break gave his body time to heal.Glenn McGrath was another thoroughbred who played at the highest level for 14 years and took 563 Test wickets with minimal injury problems because he had a textbook, efficient action. The bowlers who lasted shared one overwhelming trait: a lean, strong frame that absorbed shock rather than fought it. Richard Hadlee shortened his run-up mid-career, sacrificing a yard of pace for extra durability. Courtney Walsh, tall and whippy, bowled until he was 38, amassing 519 Test wickets with an action so smooth, it looked effortless,” added Chappell.
While talking about bowlers now having to think about competing across three formats, Chappell also talked about how the Ashes urn will go to the team that manages its fast bowlers fit and firing longest. Australia’s current injury list is a reminder that no amount of science has yet annulled the laws of nature. Cummins and Hazlewood will be replaced by eager youngsters, and the cycle will continue. Some will have the resilient architecture that allows a long career; others will flare brightly, then burn out. This Ashes series has already been profoundly shaped by the absence of two world-class operators. In the end, the urn will almost certainly go to the team that best manages to keep its premier fast bowlers fit and firing longest,” wrote Chappell.
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