Pat Cummins Return Put on Ice; Australia Announce Squad For 2nd Ashes Test at Gabba

Ashes: Pat Cummins was expected to return for the second Ashes Test after missing the first one in Perth, but that has been put on hold it seems as Australia have announced their squad for the Gabba game. Cummins and Josh Hazlewood are not part of the 14-member squad for the Test. Cummins has been out of action due to a back injury and now it is understood that the management is ready to give him more time to recover completely. 

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Australia have earned the luxury of doing that because they are leading in the series after their win at Perth. 

Will Head Open? 

The question is - will they go back to trusting Usman Khawaja as opener if he passes the fitness test? Or will they trust Josh Inglis at the top? This will be a tricky call to make for Australian coach Andrew McDonald after Travis Head's mind-numbing 69-ball century in the second innings at Perth. Head has already said that he is ‘comfortable in any position’. 

The Gabba game is going to be a pink-ball test and hence the pacers would play a huge role. 

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AUS vs ENG Squads

Australia (second Test) squad: Steve Smith (c), Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Brendan Doggett, Cameron Green, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Michael Neser, Mitchell Starc, Jake Weatherald, Beau Webster

England squad: Ben Stokes (c), Harry Brook (vc), Jofra Archer, Gus Atkinson, Shoaib Bashir, Jacob Bethell, Brydon Carse, Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Will Jacks, Ollie Pope, Matthew Potts, Joe Root, Jamie Smith (wk), Josh Tongue, Mark Wood

England would look to bounce back with a win after losing at Perth by eight wickets in under two days.