Australia captain Pat Cummins will miss the upcoming fourth Ashes Test against England at the Melbourne Cricket Ground as he continues to manage his back injury.
The selectors confirmed the squad on Tuesday morning. After sealing the Ashes in Adelaide, Cummins himself stated that he’s doubtful for the Boxing Day Test, and now, in his place, Steve Smith will once again be leading the side. Smith, who missed the third match of the five-game series, is fully fit and hence is back as the skipper of the side as Australia look to enforce a whitewash on the arch-rival.
Todd Murphy is also named in the 15-member squad as the replacement for the injured Nathan Lyon. The latter tore his right hamstring while fielding on the fifth and final day of Australia’s 82-run win at the Adelaide Oval. Cricket Australia have now stated that the 38-year-old will be sidelined for an “extended period” after undergoing surgery.
Pacer Jhye Richardson is also in contention to play the Boxing Day Test in the absence of Cummins. On the other hand, Murphy is the potential replacement for Lyon, having been picked ahead of Cricket Australia-contracted Matthew Kuhnemann, leading Sheffield Shield offspinner Corey Rocchiccioli and four-Test legspinner Mitchell Swepson.
Earlier, Murphy had replaced Lyon during the 2023 Ashes as well, as he played in Headingley and the Oval as Australia’s lone spinner. Most recently, he featured in the Australian playing XI alongside Lyon and Kuhnemann when the side fielded three spinners against Sri Lanka in Galle earlier this year.
‘Spin would play a big role’
The Melbourne curator Matt Page has already stated that spin will be playing a role in the upcoming Test, and hence Murphy’s role becomes all the more important.
“We had a great Shield game here. We obviously had some really challenging weather leading to that. I think the pitch sat under covers for three days. It was really cool, which is not ideal for pitch prep. But the pitch did everything that we wanted it to. I think we had two fast bowlers get five-fors, a couple of guys got hundreds, and Matt Short got four in the [third] innings,” ESPNcricinfo quoted Page as saying.
“So for us, it’s about trying to give everyone a chance in the game at certain points. The Shield pitch has done that. I guess that gives us good confidence, leading into this,” he added.
Australia squad: Steven Smith (captain), Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Brendan Doggett, Cameron Green, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Todd Murphy, Michael Neser, Jhye Richardson, Mitchell Starc, Jake Weatherald, Beau Webster.