Australian captain Pat Cummins and fellow paceman Josh Hazlewood will miss another Ashes Test due to injury, while opening batsman Usman Khawaja remains in the squad for the second match in Brisbane.
Cummins missed the team’s two-day win at Perth Stadium due to an ongoing back injury, but appeared to be on track to feature at the Gabba, bowling sharply at the net during the build-up.
He underwent further fitness training and bowled against stand-in captain Steve Smith during a practice session in Sydney on Friday, but was subsequently left out after Cricket Australia named the same last-14 group.
There was no explanation for Cummins’ absence, with a brief accompanying statement saying only: “Pat Cummins will travel to Brisbane to continue his preparations. The team will reconvene in Brisbane from Sunday.”
The 32-year-old is in Queensland so it’s not beyond the realm of possibility that he could be added to the squad within the next few days, but it would be an unusual move given the decision to leave him out in the first place.
Australia won the series opener without Cummins, but his continued absence is a big boost for England.
Player of the Match Mitchell Starc, with 10 wickets for Perth, may be the top wicket-taker in Test cricket with 81 wickets in day/night games, but Cummins is tied for second with 43 wickets in five fewer appearances than his left-handed teammate.
With an average of 17.34, a strike rate of 37.2 wickets per ball and a best of 6/23 recorded at the Gabba in 2019, he is a world-class operator under the lights.
Josh Hazlewood continues his recovery after missing Perth with a hamstring injury
With Hazlewood also absent again, Brendan Doggett and Scott Borland will once again back up Starc.
“It’s going slowly. I’m going to have another one today. I just started the other day. I’m running and everything is going well,” Hazlewood said at Friday’s SCG.
“It’s probably going to be difficult to schedule. I think ‘Ron’ (Australian coach Andrew McDonald) probably pulled it off the other day, hopefully in a tail-end role. I hope we’re not out of balance yet. I hope we’re at the top by then,” he added.
Opening pitcher Khawaja also stayed on despite suffering from back spasms that limited him for the entire first Test, while Travis Head took over for the opener with a game-winning performance in the fourth innings.
It remains to be seen whether he will retain his place in the eleven, but Josh Inglis, who just completed a century against the England Lions, and all-rounder Beau Webster are available as additional seam options.
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Atherton and Hussain discuss whether Joe Root’s legacy as an all-time great will be affected if he fails to score an Ashes century for Australia
Australia 2nd Test Team
Steve Smith (captain), Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Brendan Doggett, Cameron Green, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Michael Nether, Mitchell Starc, Jake Weatherald, Beau Webster.
Ashes Series in Australia 2025-26
always UK and Ireland
1st test (Perth – 21st to 25th November): Australia defeats England by 8 wickets 2nd Test (day/night): Thursday 4th December to Monday 8th December (4am) – The Gabba, Brisbane 3rd Test : Wednesday 17 December – Sunday 21 December (11:30pm) – Adelaide Oval Fourth Test: Thursday 25 December – Monday 29 December (11:30pm) – Melbourne Cricket Ground 5th Test: Sunday 4 January to Thursday 8 January (11:30pm) – Sydney Cricket Ground
