Australia’s James Pattinson ruled out of Ashes with back injury

What’s the story?

Australia fast bowler James Pattinson will miss this summer’s Ashes after re-aggravating stress fractures in his lower back. He will now take an indefinite break from cricket in a bid to recover from the injury that had previously ruled him out of Australia’s tour to Bangladesh in August.

“Obviously I am extremely disappointed with this setback after just getting back into a good run of playing cricket,” Pattinson said in an official statement released by Cricket Australia.

“I’m especially disappointed to miss out on the possibility to play in a home Ashes Series.

“Over the next few weeks I will discuss all available options available to me with medical staff, to work out the best plan to prevent this from happening again," he added.

In case you didn’t know…

Pattinson made his Test debut in late 2011 against New Zealand and impressed in his debut series. However, he was dropped from the Test side in 2013. He returned to the side after nearly two years during the West Indies' 2015 tour of Australia.

It was not poor performances but injuries that kept him out of the side, and quite often, for long intervals.

The heart of the matter

Pattinson presented with back pain right after he returned from England, following the Champions Trophy and his county cricket commitments. He then decided to sit out of the Bangladesh tour so that specialists could monitor the injury and help him recover.

After a substantial period of rest, he did return to bowling, and was in the running to be a part of the Ashes tour. However, now, it appears that he is still experiencing some pain while bowling.

CA’s Science and Sports Medicine Manager Alex Kountouris revealed that the regular scans and recent imaging had revealed that Pattinson had begun to re-aggravate his previous fracture. Although this has ruled the paceman from the Sheffield Shield (at least the initial stages) and the Ashes campaign, the medical team are confident that he can recover from this and return to playing.

What’s next?

Australia host England in the upcoming Ashes series with the first Test starting on 23rd November, 2017 at the Gabba in Brisbane. It is unknown when Pattinson would return from injury. As of now, it is certain, he will not feature in the Ashes.

Author’s take

It is unfortunate that Pattinson has suffered yet another injury and that too right ahead of the Ashes.

The injury ruins what would have been a potential dream fast-bowling quartet, made up of Pattinson, Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood and Pat Cummins, to be unleashed on England. It is a big blow for the Australian side but they certainly have a pool of promising talent, any one of whom can replace Pattinson.