Pat Cummins will return to lead Australia for the third Ashes Test in Adelaide, with Nathan Lyon also recalled, but the biggest selection call of all may prove to be the one that leaves Usman Khawaja watching from the sidelines as his long Test career reaches a crossroads.
Cummins is back after missing the opening two Tests with a back injury, while Lyon has been reinstated following his omission for the Brisbane match, which Australia won by eight wickets to surge into a commanding 2-0 series lead.
The pair replace Brendan Doggett and Michael Neser, bolstering an attack that will also feature Mitchell Starc and Scott Boland under lights at Adelaide Oval.
Yet the decision that has drawn the most attention is the continued absence of Khawaja, who was fit to return after missing the Gabba Test with back spasms. Instead, selectors have opted to persist with Travis Head and Jake Weatherald at the top of the order, a pairing that showed promise in Brisbane and has convinced Australia to resist the temptation of familiarity.
“I think the big thing that’s shifted on us is probably Trav opening after that first Test and how good that’s looked with Weathers,” Cummins said on Tuesday. “We were pretty happy with that batting line-up and it didn’t feel like it needed to change.”
For Khawaja, who turns 39 on Thursday, the call represents a sobering moment. An 85-Test veteran with an average of 43.56, the left-hander has not passed fifty since a monumental 232 against Sri Lanka in Galle last January.
While age and recent returns inevitably colour the discussion, Cummins was careful to stress that Khawaja’s story is not yet written.
“I think the selectors have been quite adamant we’re picking a side each week. It doesn’t mean it has to be the same side every week,” he said. “One of Ussie’s great strengths is he’s scored runs at the top and he’s scored runs in the middle. If we didn’t think he’d be good enough to come straight back in then he wouldn’t be here in the squad with us.
“So, absolutely I can see a path back at some point if needed.”
Josh Inglis will remain at No 7 after sliding into the middle order in Brisbane, while Australia know a draw in Adelaide would be enough to retain the Ashes. Cummins, however, was keen to underline the dangers of complacency, drawing on the scars of the 2023 series in England, when Australia let a 2-0 lead slip to a drawn contest.
“We probably let a couple of those [winning opportunities] slide, particularly at Headingley and The Oval,” he said. “You just can’t let them go.”
Across the visitors’ dressing room, the mood is more urgent. England arrive in Adelaide knowing defeat would hand Australia an unassailable 3-0 lead and extend a winless Ashes run on Australian soil that now stands at 17 matches.
Captain Ben Stokes has responded by demanding more fight from his team after what he described as “raw” conversations following heavy defeats in Perth and Brisbane.
England have made one change, with Josh Tongue replacing Gus Atkinson, while Will Jacks retains his place ahead of Shoaib Bashir. Stokes, 34, was in no mood to sugar-coat the challenge ahead.
“What’s been said has been said,” he told reporters. “I’ve done all the talking over the last two days that I needed to. All that stuff’s done now, so it’s about what gets seen out on the field in Adelaide this week.”
Labelled “the most competitive person I’ve ever come across” by former captain Alastair Cook, Stokes said his message was simple.
“It’s just about trying to fight in every situation that you find yourself in,” he said. “Understanding the situation and what you feel is required for your team. Just look at your opposition every single time and show a bit of dog. That’s fight to me.”
Stokes pointed to England’s gritty third-Test win over India at Lord’s in July as the benchmark, when they clung on for a 22-run victory deep into the fifth day. “The attitude and the mentality towards that specific situation is what gave us the best chance of winning that game,” he said.
England’s tour has unfolded under intense scrutiny, with hostile crowds and relentless media attention confronting a squad in which only five players had previously experienced an Ashes series in Australia. Stokes acknowledged the impact, but insisted there could be no excuses now.
“Now I feel everyone has experienced that and probably at its highest level,” he said. “So for the next three games there isn’t going to be any of that ‘I didn’t expect this’.”
15 killed in attack on Bondi Beach - in pictures
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Police work at the scene after a shooting at Bondi Beach in Sydney, where 15 people were killed and 40 others injured. AFP -
A police officer walks along cordon tape at the scene. The shooting took place at a gathering for the Jewish festival of Hanukkah. Getty Images -
Emergency services workers gather at the scene. AFP -
People cross a street after what police declared was a terrorist incident. AFP -
Health workers move a woman on to a stretcher. AFP -
Police first responders speak to members of the public at the scene of the shooting. Getty Images -
Emergency workers transport a person on a stretcher after the shooting. AP -
The two suspects, dressed in black, firing from a bridge. AFP -
Mourners gather by floral tributes to the victims, one of whom was a 10-year-old girl. AFP -
Ahmed al Ahmed, 43, was declared a hero after wrestling a gun off one of the suspects. Photo: Instagram -
Police officers stand guard outside the house of a suspect. Reuters -
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said he would consider toughening gun laws in response to the incident. Bloomberg -
Police and forensics staff begin the task of retrieving bodies from the scene. EPA -
Mourners carrying flowers walk along Bondi Beach. EPA -
Members of the forensic team carry out an investigation at the scene. Reuters -
Belongings left behind are lined up at a ramp near the scene of the shooting. Reuters
The Test will also be played under heightened security following Sunday’s deadly attack at a Jewish celebration at Sydney’s Bondi Beach, in which 15 people were killed. South Australia Premier Peter Malinauskas confirmed additional measures would be in place at Adelaide Oval, including the presence of armed police, although authorities stressed there was no specific threat.
“There’s no intelligence at this time to indicate that there are any increased levels of threat,” South Australia Police Commissioner Grant Stevens said.
Cricket Australia and the England and Wales Cricket Board said they were “horrified” by the events, with a moment of silence to be observed before play and players wearing black armbands.
