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Pat Cummins will be making his much-awaited comeback for Australia in the third Test against England in Adelaide in the ongoing Ashes 2025-26. Cummins has fully recovered from a lumbar bone stress injury suffered earlier this year and will be back leading Australia in the third Test. Steve Smith had stepped in as captain in the first two Tests against England in the pacer's absence.
While Cummins' return is a huge boost for the hosts, Australia have also been handed a major setback. Pacer Josh Hazlewood has been ruled out of the remainder of the series after failing to make the cut in the first two matches. Hazlewood, who has been recovering from an Achilles issue, will now focus on his preparations for the T20 World Cup next year.
Australia head coach Andrew McDonald confirmed Cummins' return to the side and said he expects the pacer to lead the team in the third Test. Cummins last led Australia in their Test match against West Indies in Kingston in July this year, before getting sidelined due to a back injury.
"His body's ready to go and barring anything else happening in the next week, I'd be expecting Pat to be tossing the coin and putting the blazer on," Australia head coach McDonald said on Cummins' return.
McDonald also confirmed that Hazlewood will miss the remainder of the series. "Unfortunately, Josh won't be a part of the Ashes. Really, really flat for him. A couple of setbacks that we didn't see coming, and we thought he would play a huge part in the series. It's a totally separate injury. It's somewhere lower in the calf to Achilles region. His preparation will then shift towards the World Cup, which is an incredibly important campaign for us," he added.
Cummins was close to making his comeback in the recently concluded second Test against England at The Gabba in Brisbane. However, the Australian team management decided not to rush the pacer into action. The pacer has undergone extensive match simulation ahead of his return, and McDonald feels he is ready for his Test comeback.
In the absence of Cummins and Hazlewood, Australia brought in Michael Neser and Brendan Doggett in the pink-ball Test against England at The Gabba. Neser grabbed the opportunity with both hands, bagging his maiden Test fifer to help Australia register a thumping 8-wicket win in the 2nd Test to go 2-0 up in the five-match series.
However, with Cummins returning, Neser is likely to be left out of the playing XI for the third Test in Adelaide. Doggett is also set to miss out as spinner Nathan Lyon is expected to make his comeback in the XI after being dropped for the pink-ball Test at The Gabba.
Usman Khawaja is also set to be available for the third Test after regaining full fitness. However, it remains to be seen if the Australian team management will slot back the senior left-hander in the playing XI or continue with the fresh pairing of Travis Head and Jake Weatherald, who have done well in the first two Test matches.
Australia have taken a 2-0 lead in the series with back-to-back wins in Perth and Brisbane and will be hoping to seal the Ashes with a third successive victory in the third Test at the Adelaide Oval. The third Test will get underway on December 17.
