Cricket

Australia announces squad for 2nd Ashes Test; Pat Cummins & Josh Hazlewood ruled out

Australia names an unchanged 14-man squad for the 2nd Ashes Test in Brisbane. Captain Pat Cummins (back stress) and Josh Hazlewood (hamstring) are ruled out; Steve Smith captains. Brendan Doggett retains his spot.

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On Friday, November 27, Cricket Australia has named an unchanged squad for the second Ashes 2025-26 Test, a pink ball game, against England, which is scheduled to commence on Thursday, December 4 at The Gabba in Brisbane. For the unversed, Australia bagged an eight-wicket win in the first Test in Perth.

Pat Cummins continues to miss out on the squad due to his back injury. However, he will continue to travel to Brisbane to prepare for the remainder of the series with the squad. On the other hand, Josh Hazlewood has also been left out of the pink ball Test as he continues his recovery from a hamstring injury. 

Brendan Doggett is most likely to be a part of the playing XI after he scalped five wickets on his Test debut in Perth. Mitchell Starc, Scott Boland and Michael Neser are also part of the pace battery.

"I am going to control what I can control, keep ticking the legs over, and keep bowling and trying to improve in every session and game. If I get called on in that second Test, I feel like I am ready to go again,” Doggett said on Thursday.

Interestingly, Usman Khawaja has retained his spot despite a poor outing in the series opener in Perth. However, he will need to prove his fitness after he suffered a back spasm during the Perth Test. It would be interesting to see if Nathan Lyon retains his spot in the XI as Australia axed the star spinner in their previous pink ball Test vs the West Indies.

Australia squad for second Test vs England: 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.

Ashes 2025-26 series schedule:

First Test: Australia won by eight wickets

Second Test: Gabba, December 4-8

Third Test: Adelaide Oval, December 17-21

Fourth Test: MCG, December 26-30

Fifth Test: SCG, January 4-8

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