Even though Australia are set to lose their captain and lead bowler Pat Cummins for the opening Ashes Test that begins on November 21 due to a stress injury to the back, his pace accomplice Mitchell Starc believes that Cummins would not need a lengthy rehab spell to rediscover his best. Speaking ahead of his Big Bash League engagements, Starc said: "One thing [I know about] playing with Pat and being close with Pat is he doesn’t need much [preparation]. Whether he’s bowled three warm-up balls, first over of the game, he’s on the money. He knows how to switch on really quickly. No doubt we’ll all – not just myself or Pat – in the squad be preparing slightly differently.” “He’s been floating around a little bit, and he’s in good spirits. He’s ultra-positive as always. There’s still some weeks before we get to Perth for the Test prep. We’ll see where that lands. Hopefully, we see a lot of him through the summer," he added. In Cummins's absence, Scott Boland would step in. Boland, whose 14 Tests have come as an injury replacement to one of Starc, Cummins or Josh Hazlewood, has grabbed 62 wickets at a meagre average of 16.53. Starc is confident that he will step up. “I think everyone knows the skills and the ability of Scott Boland. Whether you’ve seen him light up the MCG or seen him bowl for Victoria, we know the skill set he has to offer. His ability is amazing, and quite rightly, he’s a Test match-winning bowler. If he’s called upon for a lot more Test cricket, what a man, they’ll build him a statue sooner," he said. Expressing his willingness to bowl in all five Tests, he dwelled on Australia's depth in pace bowling. “I think the depth is there. You mentioned Nes [Michael Neser]; Sean Abbott’s been around the squad for a while. It’s times like these you might unearth someone.” Former cricketer Ian Healy too backed Neser, though he is 35. "Michael Neser is in the conversation for any Test. I would like him to get a game. Then there’s the engaged teammate. He shares a beer, has a wine, great mates within the team. Starc, wicket-taker, (Nathan) Lyon real container, and Hazlewood never let off. They can get the job done without Cummins.” He also named a couple of fledgling seamers. "Neser - if he's the best candidate we've got in the ranks, let's get him in. He’s the number one. Then number two is a fellow called Fergus O'Neill, 38 wickets last year, in the Sheffield Shield. He's an outstanding competitor. Number three, Xavier Bartlett – a young up-and-comer being tried at every level, Australia A, one-dayers, four-dayers and doing very well," he said. “Jordan Buckingham and then Brendan Doggett. I would say we haven't got a whole lot of depth but there's some young men coming through. The depth will be building because we've had these four bowlers together for 10 years. There's been a whole generation skipped over. With the youngsters, you try to get as much cricket into them as you possibly can, but they're a bit vulnerable to injury and then they have to take a double step up,” he added.
