Cummins Set to Sit Out Opening ODI as Test Preparations Take Priority

Australia ODI captain Pat Cummins is set to miss the opening match of the series against South Africa in Durban on Thursday, having arrived later than Mitchell Starc. Australia’s pace quartet is being managed carefully across the three-game ODI series, with preparation for the upcoming Test series taking precedence.

Cummins and Starc both sat out the ODI tour of Zimbabwe as part of their build-up to the Tests against South Africa. The three-match ODI series across Durban, Johannesburg and Potchefstroom serves as important reconnaissance for Australia ahead of the 2027 World Cup, but the pace bowlers will not be rushed through all three games in seven days. The Tests that follow carry greater immediate significance in the race for the World Test Championship final.

Josh Hazlewood played just one of the three matches in Zimbabwe under a management plan, and it is possible that he and Starc will feature in the first and third ODIs in South Africa, with Cummins potentially playing only the middle fixture as his sole appearance. Australia aim to avoid deploying their Test quicks in consecutive matches with travel days sandwiched between them.

The knock-on effect is significant. Nathan Ellis was Australia’s most effective bowler in Zimbabwe and is likely to play in all three matches in South Africa if the appearances of the three Test quicks are rotated. Starc acknowledged that Ellis is pressing his claim for a regular place in Australia’s first-choice ODI XI for next year’s World Cup.

“I think he’s grown into himself as a confident ODI bowler over the last few years, and it’s great to see him get that reward in the series,” Starc said in Durban after training on Tuesday.

“He probably led the attack in the absence of Josh playing one game, Pat and I not being over there, so he really pushed his case as a lock-in selection for the one-day team, and no doubt he’ll look to perform in these three as well.”

How Ellis fits into the side when all three Test quicks are available remains a key question. Ellis’s role as a first-change bowler at the back end of the powerplay, through the middle overs and as a death specialist most closely mirrors the function Cummins performs as captain.

Hazlewood and Starc are Australia’s new-ball wicket-takers, and Hazlewood is not as effective a death bowler as the other three. He has been seldom deployed in that role, having bowled just 30 deliveries in death overs across 11 ODIs since the 2023 World Cup.

Whether Cummins and Ellis could feature in the same side when all three pacemen are available is yet to be determined. Ellis also has a point to prove in South Africa this week, as his record on the faster, bouncier surfaces in South Africa and Australia pales in comparison to lower, slower conditions elsewhere. He averages 55.37 with an economy rate of 6.11 in nine ODIs in those venues, compared to figures of 21.93 and 4.70 across 16 ODIs in India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, the UAE and Zimbabwe.

The second dimension of Cummins’ management across the series will be the captaincy. Cummins remains the official ODI captain but has led the side in just two matches since the 2023 World Cup.

Mitchell Marsh has assumed the ODI deputy role following Steven Smith’s retirement in 2025. Cummins led Australia in only four ODIs in the lead-up to the 2023 World Cup, and he appears set to play and captain very few games ahead of the 2027 edition. He will be managed through this series, as well as Australia’s next two ODI series — in November against England and next August against New Zealand — given his heavy Test workload.

Australia has only one other back-up quick in South Africa in Xavier Bartlett, who played two of the three ODIs in Zimbabwe. Billy Stanlake has left the tour with a side strain, while Spencer Johnson has been sent home to rest ahead of three 50-over games for Australia A in India at the start of October.

Allrounder Jack Edwards has been flown in as additional cover, partly for Cameron Green, who has been nursing a shoulder issue that kept him out of all three ODIs in Zimbabwe. If Green does return in Durban, it will create a squeeze in Australia’s middle order, with Alex Carey under the most pressure to retain his place.

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