Pat Cummins unlikely to play Boxing Day Test as Aussie team set for shake-up

ADELAIDE: With the Ashes won, Pat Cummins has confirmed it's unlikely he'll feature in the Boxing Day Test after his injury issues.

Cummins missed the first two Tests with a back problem and had an aggressive rehabilitation process to try and get him back for the series.

The fast bowler looked fit when bowling in Adelaide and pumped out 34 overs across the Test.

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However, the captain said he doubts he'll feature in the next Test.

"First of all, I felt great," Cummins said.

"Just like a normal Test match. Bowling mid 30s overs, if anything, because I came into this Test match quite fresh, I feel my legs are still decent.

"Sometimes you're hanging on to some residual soreness from previous games. So, I'm feeling really good.

"As for the rest of the series, we'll wait and see. We had a pretty aggressive build up knowing that there's an Ashes there to be won, and we thought that was worth it. Now that the series has been won, there might be a sense of job's done and let's kind of reassess the risk. We'll work it out over the next couple of days.

"I doubt I'll be playing Melbourne and then we'll have a chat about Sydney. Certainly before the series, it was while the series is alive lets take on the risk and have a crack at it. Now that's it done, I think we'll need to have a chat about it."

The loss of Cummins means Brendan Doggett, Michael Neser and Jhye Richardson will come back into contention.

Nathan Lyon is also unlikely to play after a hamstring injury on day five, with Cummins calling him "irreplaceable".

Matt Kuhnemann, Todd Murphy, Corey Rocchiccioli and Mitch Swepson will likely come into contention. The other option could be an all-pace attack with Travis Head to pitch in when spin is needed.

Mitchell Starc and Scott Boland are unlikely to be rested for Boxing Day.

If Cummins is out, Steve Smith should return as captain if he overcomes his bout of vertigo. Usman Khawaja came in for Smith and impressed at No.4 and it would be a tough call to leave him out, while Josh Inglis is a selection for the future.