Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood ruled out of Pakistan Tests

Both Cummins and Hazlewood suffered lumbar bone stress injuries after the Tests in South Africa in March, and missed the subsequent limited-overs series in England in June, and the T20I tri-series against Zimbabwe and Pakistan in Harare.

David Beakley, the team physio, said they would be eased back into the setup in time for the one-day internationals against South Africa in November.

“Pat and Josh are progressing well from their lumbar bone stress injuries but are not bowling, so unfortunately they will not be at the level required for Test match intensity come October,” said Beakley.

“Barring any setbacks, we are hopeful that Pat and Josh will return via the back-end of the One-Day Cup, with the aim of them being available for the ODI series against South Africa in November as they build towards the Indian Test series.”

In some good news for Australia, Mitchell Starc resumed full training after recovering from a stress fracture in his right leg, and is available for the Pakistan Tests.

“The body feels good, I've been bowling for three weeks. I think the plan is to bowl off my full run at about 85 per cent intensity,” he told cricket.com.au recently.

Australia will travel to the United Arab Emirates in October for the two Tests against Pakistan, which will be followed by a series of limited-overs internationals.