Smith keeps England guessing as Australia star nears return
The stand-in Australian skipper remained coy on the hosts’ team selection ahead of the second Ashes Test in Brisbane.
Australia’s stand-in skipper Steve Smith gave away precious little as he spoke about a potential return to the team for captain Pat Cummins for the second Test against England at the Gabba starting on Thursday.
Cummins who missed the first Test due to a back injury is closing in on full fitness and Smith did not close the possibility of him turning up on the first day at Brisbane.
Australia had no problems in stretching their unbeaten run at home against England to 16 matches with an eight-wicket win in the first Test at Perth despite the absence of their skipper and Smith fell short of confirming whether Cummins will make a return to the playing XI at Brisbane.
“A heap of things are on the table,” Smith said on Wednesday.
“We’ll wait and see what the wicket is like and from there we’ll determine a playing XI. He’s (Cummins) looked pretty good to me, the way he’s bowled in the nets.
“Obviously games are different intensity but he’s tracking really nicely, he knows his body well but we’ll wait and see. He’s close, he’s done everything really well the last little bit,” he added.
Cummins’ return would be a huge boost for Australia as he boasts an average of 17.34 in pink-ball Tests. England won’t have fond memories of facing the Australian captain who had claimed a five-for the last time the two teams locked horns at the Gabba.
England captain Ben Stokes acknowledged the quality his opposite number brings to the table.
“Pat’s awesome. Has been for a very long time,” England captain Ben Stokes told reporters on Wednesday.
“He’s done great things not only as a player, but he’s been great since he’s been given the responsibility of being captain for Australia.
“Whatever XI they go with, if Pat’s there, if Pat’s not, we’ll still be going in trying to get a win this week,” he added.
Smith was equally tight-lipped about the availability of two other Australians whose presence in the playing XI for the Gabba Test and beyond remains undecided.
“He (Usman Khawaja) was obviously not fit enough to get up for this one but he’s doing all the right things to try and get himself as quickly as possible and we know with Uzzie he’s been a quality player for a long period of time.
“He’s a good cricketer and he’s done exceptionally well. We’ll look at this game, see how it goes and I’m sure that’s a question for the selectors going forward,” Smith said.
Australia could be tempted to go in with an all-pace attack in the pink-ball Test with Nathan Lyon the likely candidate to miss out if the hosts opt for that route. Smith once again didn’t provide a definitive answer.
“Not sure. Here’s a place Nathan has done really well in the past, he’s a quality bowler,” Smith said.
“We’ll weigh up the options and see how we go,” he added.
Australia have a staggering record in day-night Tests winning 13 out of the 14 pink-ball matches, beating England on each of the three occasions in the past. With a potential return of their skipper, they will be hoping to maintain their winning streak in the ICC World Test Championship 2025-27 and also take a big stride towards retaining the Ashes this summer.
