Australia captain Pat Cummins in line for return in third Ashes Test against England in Adelaide - 'I’ll be good to go'
Published 06/12/2025 at 09:54 GMT
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Australia captain Pat Cummins confirmed he is in line for a return in the third NRMA Insurance men’s Ashes series Test in Adelaide. Cummins has been absent from the opening two Tests of the series after a back injury, but revealed he was seriously considered by selectors to feature in the second Test at the Gabba, before ultimately deciding his inclusion would be "too risky."
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Pat Cummins has declared he will be "good to go" for the third Test of the NRMA Insurance men’s Ashes series in Adelaide.
Australia's captain was unavailable for the opening Test in Perth following a back injury which had prevented him from making a competitive appearance since July.
The 32-year-old was in line for a return in the second Test in Brisbane, but Australia's selectors ultimately decided not to rush him back into action.
Cummins was commentating during the second session on Day 3, and confirmed he should be available for the Adelaide Test which begins on December 17 - with the action live on TNT Sports and discovery+.
"First of all, yeah, I should be right for Adelaide," he said. "So, I’ll have one more bowl tomorrow [Sunday], and then we’ll go to Adelaide and have another bowl there.
"So, barring any hiccups, I’ll be good to go. Body feels great."
When asked how close he was to playing in the second Test in Brisbane, Cummins said: "Relatively close, really.
"My body feels great, I’m bowling at 100%. The big question mark when coming back from a bone injury is we tend to have a bowl and have a couple of days off, recover, bowl, bowl.
"I haven’t done back-to-back bowls, so one of the high-risk things going into a Test match is you’re going to be expected to bowl two days in a row, maybe three days in a row, and potentially quite a few overs."
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In Cummins' absence, Steve Smith has captained Australia, and Scott Boland replaced him in the bowling ranks in Perth. Australia are also without Josh Hazlewood.
Cummins revealed he was seriously considered by the selectors, who eventually decided it was too risky to include him at The Gabba.
"So, we felt that was too risky; we started to kind of game plan. Could we try and maybe bowl 20 overs, 25 overs with ‘Greeny’ [Cameron Green] in the side as an all-rounder?" Cummins continued.
"We feel like we’ve got lots of bowling. So, we really tried to map out a way where I could play, but it just felt a little bit too cute in the end.
"And it didn’t really feel fair on the other bowlers, or even on myself as a captain. If I had to have a bowler that I was bowling and trying to work out which overs, it didn’t quite feel right … it didn’t feel like the right Test match to take that risk."
Cummins' return will likely come at the expense of Brendan Doggett or Michael Neser.
Also due to return in Adelaide is Nathan Lyon, who was left out of the second Test.
It was the first time he had not been selected in a home Test since 2012.
Australia chief selector George Bailey said Lyon would be back in the team for the third Test in Adelaide.
"Very much it's a one-Test decision. Nath will play in Adelaide," Bailey confirmed.
"It's just how you think you're going to structure up the resources and how it's going to be used when it gets dark, when you think you're going to be using seam bowlers, how many bowlers get used in a day, when you think the new ball is going to be available, that sort of stuff."
Watch every ball of the Ashes live on TNT Sports and discovery+
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