Slowly, and with white-ball cricket as the testing ground. Beardman needed about seven months to recover from a lumbar bone stress injury, returned in September through two Western Australia one-dayers, then took 4-23 for Australia A in Puducherry on 6 October. Cummins lost years of Test cricket to similar trouble, so this plan places the red-ball debut after Christmas, not before. Every step is shared with sports science and medicine staff. That caution is deliberate, and his pace is back above 140kph in the nets.
From Lahore Debut to Lumbar Scan
Beardman announced himself on 29 January in Lahore, taking 2-33 on his T20I debut against Pakistan after 13 wickets in 11 games had helped Perth Scorchers win a sixth BBL title. Lower back soreness appeared before the second T20I, and scans in Perth soon found the cause. The timing could hardly have been crueller for a bowler just breaking through.
The diagnosis was a lumbar bone stress injury, a stress fracture in plain terms. Cricket Australia announced an extended rehabilitation block and ruled him out for the rest of the domestic season, which pushed his Sheffield Shield debut back a year. That was a heavy price for a fast bowler barely ten days into his international career.
Mahli Beardman back injury Australia fast bowling
Recovery followed a staged script. After about five months, a fresh scan showed the bone had knitted, and clearance to run came on 15 June. Two to three weeks of running came before any bowling in the nets, then a gradual build-up lasting 10 to 12 weeks.
That rebuild returned him to match cricket in September, roughly seven months after the injury. In the nets he has been bowling above 140kph, the speed he reached consistently before the scan, which suggests the bone is no longer holding anything back.
Bowler | Injury | Time out | Path back |
Beardman | Lumbar stress injury, 2026 | About 7 months | White-ball first, Shield after Christmas |
Cummins | Back stress fractures, 2012 to 2015 | About 5 years 4 months between Tests | One-day cup, Shield, then Test recall |
A Return Built on White-Ball Overs
His first two one-day games for Western Australia at the WACA produced 0-29 and 0-42, wicketless but useful as workload tests. On 6 October at the Siechem Stadium in Puducherry, he took 4-23 for Australia A against India A, with three wickets inside his first 12 balls, in a 125-run win. It was only his third match back.
He says he feels slightly underdone, which is the right instinct for someone months out. The strategy is to prove his body handles limited-overs loads first, then stretch toward multi-day cricket. The three-match India tour finishes on 11 October. Overs bowled have not been published.
Cummins Shows What Rushing Costs
Cummins debuted in November 2011 at 18, taking 6-79 against South Africa, then missed that home summer with a heel problem. Back stress fractures followed in late 2012, August 2013 and September 2015, and he played just three games across the fifteen months from October 2012 to January 2014.
In 2016 he sat out a one-day tour of South Africa while reworking his action at reduced intensity, returned in the NSW One-Day Cup that October having not played for over a year, took eight Shield wickets in March 2017 and was recalled for the third and fourth Tests in India. The gap between his Tests lasted about five years and four months. That precedent is the cautionary tale behind every conversation Australia now has about young quicks.
Pace Care Becomes a System
Cricket Australia now employs a national pace-bowling coach, Adam Griffith, to coordinate how fast bowlers are handled across international and domestic cricket. Andrew McDonald expects his expertise across all formats to prove invaluable. Beardman describes decisions being shared with the sports science and medical staff plus his coaches, and says he is in no hurry, with Cummins as his idol.
The next markers are fixed: the Scorchers’ BBL opener against Melbourne Renegades at MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on 12 December, and a red-ball debut for Western Australia after Christmas with no firm date. Judging the Mahli Beardman back injury, Australia’s fast-bowling plan will take those dates, not one four-wicket spell, and success means a long career instead of a Cummins-style gap.
Is easing Beardman back through white-ball cricket the right call, or should Australia fast-track him for Tests? Tell us in the comments.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
What kind of back problem sidelined Mahli Beardman?
He suffered a lumbar bone stress injury, effectively a stress fracture. Scans in Perth confirmed it after lower back soreness while preparing for the second T20I against Pakistan.
When could Beardman return to Australia colours?
No date is fixed, but he is currently travelling with Australia A’s limited-overs group in India. Three one-dayers there end on 11 October, and his next marker is the Scorchers BBL opener on 12 December.
How quick is Mahli Beardman?
He has been bowling above 140kph in the nets since returning. Before the injury, he sat consistently over that mark, though no match speeds from his comeback have been reported.
Has Beardman played Test cricket yet?
No, he has not played a Test and has yet to make his Sheffield Shield debut. He made his senior international bow in the T20I against Pakistan in January 2026, as Australian cap number 114.
Will Beardman feature in the next Big Bash?
Yes, the Scorchers have him lined up for their opener against Melbourne Renegades on 12 December 2026. The match is in Chennai, and his last campaign produced 13 wickets from 11 matches.
Disclaimer: This blog post reflects the author’s personal insights and analysis. Readers are encouraged to consider the perspectives shared and draw their own conclusions.