Australia’s stand-in skipper Steve Smith recently came forward and talked about the possible inclusion of Pat Cummins in the side’s playing XI for the second Test of the ongoing Ashes 2025-26, which is slated to begin from December 4.
The stage is set for the second Ashes 2025-26 Test. Australia will take on England in the second clash of the series at The Gabba from December 4, and while the visitors have named their playing XI for the upcoming game, Australia is yet to name their playing XI.
Cricket Australia has delayed naming the XI that will take the field in Gabba, are they are looking to make some last-minute decisions. Australia’s stand-in skipper Steve Smith stated that a decision on the playing XI would be made in the latter stages of the day, as he left the door open for the return of Pat Cummins and the possible exclusion of Nathan Lyon.
It is interesting to note that Cummins’ inclusion in the playing XI would be a surprise, as he was not named in Australia’s 14-man squad for the Gabba Test as he is recovering from a lumbar bone stress injury in his lower back. However, due to his excellence in the nets, Cummins’ return in the second Test itself has become a possibility.
“A whole heap of things I think are on the table. We’ll wait and see what the wicket looks like, and from there we’ll determine a playing XI,” Steve Smith said in the pre-game press conference.
“He looks pretty good to me, the way he’s bowled in the nets. Obviously, games are a different intensity, for sure, but he’s tracking really nicely. He knows his body well, and yeah, we’ll wait and see,” he added.
Smith spoke about Nathan Lyon’s situation as well
It is worth noting that veteran spinner Nathan Lyon was left out of Australia’s most recent day-night Test in Jamaica in July and also only bowled one over in last year’s pink-ball Test in Adelaide against India, and it could be quite the possibility that he would be excluded from the playing XI in Brisbane.
“I’m not sure. We’ll look at the surface, as I said, and we’ll sum things up from there. And I think here’s a place where Nathan’s done really well in the past. He’s a quality bowler. But we’ll weigh up the options and we’ll see how we go,” Smith said.
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