Josh Inglis is expected to come into Australia’s batting line-up for the second Ashes Test on Thursday as speculation grows that captain Pat Cummins might make a shock comeback in Brisbane.
Travis Head, who made a match-winning century as a makeshift opener in Perth, is set to remain at the top of the order in place of the injured Usman Khawaja, with England-born Inglis slotting into the middle order.
Stand-in captain Steve Smith would not confirm the team when he spoke on the eve of the Test or address swirling Cummins comeback rumours, which were widely circulating in the Australian press on Wednesday.
Cummins missed Australia’s eight-wicket win in the Perth opener while recovering from a back injury and was omitted from the second Test squad named last week.
Smith, however, said Cummins appeared in good condition at training and may be part of selectors’ conversations for the pink-ball match.
“He looks pretty good to me, the way he’s bowled in the nets,” the master batter told reporters at the Gabba. “Obviously the game’s a different intensity, for sure, but he’s tracking really nicely, he knows his body well and yeah, we’ll wait and see.”
Smith also declined to confirm Nathan Lyon’s place in the XI, though selectors could opt to retain the specialist spinner and drop one-Test fast
Local media reported Inglis will take Head’s spot in the middle order for his first Test on home soil but Smith said the team needed to check out the Gabba pitch at training later in the day.
Cricket Australia confirmed later on Wednesday the team would not announce their XI until the toss on match-day.
Inglis scored a century on debut against Sri Lanka in Galle in January, and would line up for his fourth Test against Ben Stokes’ England.
“Yeah, he’s obviously a pretty attacking batsman, he did really well on his debut in Sri Lanka,” Smith said of Inglis. “He’s been in really good form …. He plays fast bowling really nicely so if he gets an opportunity I’m sure he’ll do really well for us.”
England captain Stokes would not be drawn on the prospect of Cummins making an early return from injury.
“He’s done great things not only as a player, but he’s been great since he’s been given the responsibility of captain,” Stokes said on Wednesday. “If Pat’s there, if Pat’s not there, we’ll still be going in there to try and get the win.”
England were beaten by Australia inside two days in the first Test in Perth and need to avoid defeat or risk seeing their hopes of regaining the Ashes go up in smoke.
Smith expects an unchanged aggressive approach from England. The Gabba under lights is expected to offer plenty of help for both bowling attacks with England stacked with quicks, though off-spinner Will Jacks has been called in to replace injured speedster Mark Wood.
“I think they’ve said for a while they’re not going to change the way they go about their business,” Smith said. “I don’t expect too much different this time. They play quite an aggressive brand of cricket and you know when they get going, they’re going to score at a good pace.”
England were widely castigated after the first Test ended inside two days, with former players slamming the so-called “Bazball” tactics which saw a number of batsmen throw their wickets away with rash shots.
“But for us it’s not focusing too much on what they do, but ensuring we’ve got our plans in place and focus on what we do well and do it for long periods of time,” said Smith, who added that Australia favoured a different approach.
“I think we adapt to conditions and play what’s in front of us,” Smith said. “That’s the one thing this team has done well for a period of time. “We’ve been able to sum up the conditions, play what’s in front in live time, not get back in the shed and say ‘we should have played this way, we should have done this’. Playing what’s in front of us and doing it for long periods — if you do that in Test cricket it holds you in pretty good stead.”
Australia have won 12 out of the 13 pink-ball Tests they have hosted, with their sole loss coming against West Indies at the Gabba in January, 2024.
England have not won at the Gabba since 1986 and have only had success there four times in 22 Tests.
“You don’t try and read too much around what happened or the result the last time the team played there,” Stokes said.
“But we’ve got grounds in England where we know that when we turn up there you sort of have that extra bit of confidence, because of not necessarily your record there, but how the crowds are.
“I feel like the Gabba is sort of like their Edgbaston or Headingley. Look, they’ve got a great record in pink-ball Test cricket and we’re just excited to get going and hopefully we can get the win this week.”
