Ashes, Gabba Test: Pat Cummins' shock return on cards as AUS delay naming XI

Australia continue to sweat over Test captain Pat Cummins’ fitness ahead of the second Ashes Test starting Thursday (Dec 4) at the Gabba in Brisbane. While England named their starting XI for the Pink-Ball Test, making one change to their line-up, the hosts will take a final call on theirs by Wednesday afternoon following pitch inspection. The stand-in captain, Steve Smith, did not name the side for the second game during the pre-game presser, saying the selectors will take the call later in the day, keeping the doors open for Cummins to make a shock return to the Test team.

Though they have to make a forced change to their winning XI, with opener Usman Khawaja getting ruled out with a back spasm, Australia could bring in Cummins for specialist spinner Nathan Lyon for this lone Day/Night Test this Ashes.

"A whole heap of things I think are on the table," Smith said on the sidelines of the second Test. "We'll wait and see what the wicket looks like, and from there we'll determine a playing XI."

Speaking on Cummins’ chances of making a comeback to the side despite not being named in the final 14 for this Test, Smith said he has bowled impressively in the nets, and that the ball is in the selectors’ court to decide on his inclusion.

"He looks pretty good to me the way he's bowled in the nets," Smith said of Cummins’ fitness and chances of him breaking into the playing XI. "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."

Although the seasoned seamer could also replace newbie Brendan Doggett in the XI, the chances of that happening are bleak, given Cummins hasn’t played any competitive cricket since July this year, and the selectors could be careful in managing his workload. So, having an all-pace attack, like how England had in the series opener, looks likely to happen should he be declared fit and ready.

Smith also sounded unsure about Lyon’s place in the side for the second game, considering he missed out on Australia’s last pink-ball Test in the Caribbean.

"I'm not sure," Smith said. "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."

Meanwhile, Australia lead this five-match series (1-0), having won the Perth Test inside two days.