Pat Cummins to miss first ODI as Australia begin South Africa tour in Durban
Pat Cummins will not play in the first One-Day International between South Africa and Australia at Kingsmead Stadium in Durban on September 24, the opening fixture of Australia's three-match ODI series in South Africa. The decision is being made for tactical reasons and to allow Cummins to focus on preparations for the upcoming Test series against the Proteas.
Both nations arrive at the series on the back of 3-0 ODI wins in their most recent assignments: Australia swept Zimbabwe 3-0, while South Africa recorded a 3-0 victory over Namibia with many of their regular players absent. Australia struggled for consistent batting contributions in the Zimbabwe series; Cooper Connolly was the only player in the Australian lineup to reach 150 runs across that assignment.
Individual returns from the recent series were led by Sikandar Raza, who finished as the top scorer with 183 runs, and Craig Ervine, who compiled 156 runs. On the bowling front, Nathan Ellis and Zimbabwe’s Brad Evans shared the leading wicket tally, each taking nine wickets in the series.
The Australian side also produced three ODI centuries during the Zimbabwe tour, scored by Matt Renshaw, Travis Head and Josh Inglis. Coverage of the build-up noted that Nathan Ellis has emerged as a successor figure within Australia’s world-champion set-up.
Cummins and his fast-bowling colleague Mitchell Starc both missed the Zimbabwe ODIs as part of workload management ahead of the Test matches against South Africa, and Australia have indicated they do not wish to over-burden their senior seamers across all three limited-overs fixtures. The selectors have left open the possibility that Cummins may feature in at least one of the remaining ODIs prior to the Test series.
With Cummins unavailable for the opener, Mitchell Marsh will continue in the role of Australia’s captain for the ODI series. Pat Cummins last appeared in an ODI for Australia against Pakistan in November 2024 at Adelaide Oval.
The three ODIs are scheduled to be played in Durban, Johannesburg and Potchefstroom and, according to the coverage, will be used by Australia as preparation for the upcoming ICC Cricket World Cup campaign.
