Australia may get the services of their captain Pat Cummins for the pink-ball Test at The Gabba, Brisbane. On the eve of the second Ashes 2025-26 Test, stand-in skipper Steve Smith remained tight-lipped on the playing eleven. Smith saw Cummins bowl in the nets and is waiting to see if he is cleared for the second Test.
"He looks pretty good to me the way he's bowled in the nets," Smith said in the pre-match press conference. "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."
If Cummins walks into the side, he is likely to replace Brendan Doggett who made his debut in Perth Test.
There is one spot open in the side as Usman Khawaja has been ruled out due to back injury. In all likeliness, Travis Head is set to open following his Perth heroics to leave England clueless. Australia have the option to include either Beau Webster or Josh Inglis in the side for middle order role. Smith didn’t name Khawaja’s replacement for the pink-ball Test after seeing the wicket.
"A whole heap of things I think are on the table," Smith said. "We'll wait and see what the wicket looks like, and from there we'll determine a playing XI."
However, Smith is not sure whether Nathan Lyon is guaranteed a spot in the playing eleven. Earlier this year, Lyon was dropped for the pink-ball Test in West Indies which he wasn’t pleased about. If Lyon is benched, there is a chance Doggett retains his place even if Cummins returns.
"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."
Who will be the first to score 1,000 runs in pink-ball Test?
Marnus Labuschagne has a chance to become fastest to 1,000 runs in pink-ball Tests. From nine Tests, he has 958 runs at an average of 63.86, including four centuries and as many fifties. Smith is not too far behind. He has 815 runs from 13 Tests at an average of 37.04, including a century and five half-centuries.