Australia have played down concerns over the fitness of their captain and strike bowler Pat Cummins with less than three months to go before the start of the Ashes.

Cummins suffered tightness in his back after his side’s recent Test series in the Caribbean.

He will undergo what Cricket Australia say is a routine scan next week, though Code Sports have reported that he is likely to miss October’s T20 series in New Zealand.

With Ben Stokes currently in rehab after tearing a shoulder muscle against India in Manchester last month, both Ashes rivals are trying to nurse their fast-bowling captains through to the first Test in Perth, starting on November 21, and beyond.

England plan to arrive in Australia with as many as nine quicks in their bid to win the Ashes for the first time since 2015. 

Australia, by contrast, are heavily reliant on their big three of Cummins, Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood, with Scott Boland in support. 

Australian Test captain Pat Cummins has been experiencing back tightness and will require a scan

Cummins will miss the upcoming T20 series against New Zealand in a scare for the Aussie team ahead of the Ashes

The reserve bowling stocks are getting thin as well, with rising star Lance Morris out for another 12 months

Several of their second-tier fast bowlers, including Lance Morris, Spencer Johnson and Ben Dwarshuis, are all injured at the moment, leaving them vulnerable to any setbacks higher up the pecking order.

Cummins, who has 309 Test wickets at 22 each, spent six years away from Test cricket because of his troubled back after making his debut in 2011 aged 18. 

But he has been a regular ever since, and will be central to Australia’s attempts to complete a fourth successive home Ashes win.

Promising quick Lance Morris suffered another debilitating injury setback in the recent ODI series against South Africa, requiring spinal surgery that rules him out for 12 months.

Just days after leaving Australia’s ODI camp with an injury, Morris will need an operation to fix an ongoing lumbar spine problem.

The 27-year-old experienced lower back soreness in Cairns, before meeting with specialists back in his hometown of Perth.

Morris will head across to Christchurch in New Zealand to have pars stabilisation surgery with Rowan Schouten.

‘I feel this is the most logical way to realise my full potential and return to my very best cricket for the Scorchers, Western Australia and Australia long into the future,’ Morris said.

‘I also take great confidence in others who have undergone similar procedures and returned to their best.

‘I plan to work hard through my recovery and return when the time is right.’