Ashes selection twist as Pat Cummins not named in Aussie squad for Brisbane Test
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Australia has picked an unchanged squad for the second Ashes Test, keeping captain and star quick Pat Cummins on ice as he continues to recover from his back injury.
It had been reported Cummins would return to the squad for the day-night Brisbane Test, beginning next Thursday, but Cricket Australia on Friday unveiled an unchanged 14-man squad from the Perth Test, in which the hosts beat England by eight wickets inside two days.
Cummins has been back bowling at full pace in recent days and, according to The Sydney Morning Herald, will do so again in Brisbane on Monday as he aims to return for the third Test, to be played in Adelaide.
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Steve Smith will again captain Australia in Cummins' absence in Brisbane.
Brendan Doggett filled in for Cummins in Perth and the Toowoomba product now appears set for his first Test at the Gabba, where he played state cricket before a move to South Australia.
There's been talk after the Perth Test that prolific off-spinner Nathan Lyon may be cut from the Australian XI for the second time in four months — coach Andrew McDonald stopped short of guaranteeing his spot this week — but that now appears less likely after Cummins was not named.
Pat Cummins bowls in the nets. Getty
Although Usman Khawaja has retained his spot in the squad, the veteran opener will have to prove his fitness if he is to play in Brisbane after back spasms hindered him in Perth.
The 38-year-old wasn't able to open in Australia's first innings as he'd spent too long off the field getting treatment. He then didn't bat at all in the hosts' second dig as a Travis Head-inspired Australia hunted down 205 runs for victory.
Even if Khawaja is deemed fit, selectors may choose to stick with Head as Jake Weatherald's opening partner after the aggressive left-hander bludgeoned 123 from 83 balls in Australia's chase in Perth.
Cummins is sidelined with fellow quick Josh Hazlewood, who was ruled out indefinitely after suffering a hamstring strain in New South Wales' final Sheffield Shield game before the first Test.
Hazlewood and Cummins have both bowled in the nets in Sydney this week.
Mitchell Starc ripped England apart in the absence of Cummins and Hazlewood in the west, taking career-best figures of 7-58 on day one and finishing with 10 scalps for the match.
England must now confront the reality that Starc is typically even more destructive in day-night Tests than he is in traditional circumstances.
The left-arm tearaway has taken 412 wickets at 26.64, including 17 five-fors, across his 101-Test career.
In pink-ball Tests, he's claimed 81 wickets at 17.08, including five five-fors, from 14 appearances.
Mitchell Starc holds the ball aloft after taking 7-58 in Perth. Cricket Australia via Getty Imag
"It's still a matter of coming in and hitting that right length, that shorter length, off stump, outside off stump," former Australian Test fast bowler Michael Kasprowicz said on SEN on Friday.
"And with the new ball, as Mitchell Starc does so well with any colour ball, because he swings it at the pace he does, your length ends up being a bit fuller because you're just testing out how much more it will swing.
"But, ultimately, it's still about just getting that ball in that right area — the area where the batsman's got to make a decision."
Australia's squad for second Test
Steve Smith (c), Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Brendan Doggett, Cameron Green, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Michael Neser, Mitchell Starc, Jake Weatherald, Beau Webster
