He took six wickets in the Adelaide Test.
Australia sealed the Ashes 2025 with a 3-0 lead after winning the third Test in Adelaide. The attention now turns to the Boxing Day Test in Melbourne. But one player who will not be part of the Australia playing XI is Pat Cummins.
Pat Cummins will not play in the Boxing Day Test because he is still being carefully managed after a back injury. Ahead of the Ashes 2025, the Australian captain was recovering from a stress injury in his lower back. It kept him out of the home white ball series against South Africa and India, as well as the first two Tests against England.
Cummins returned for the Adelaide Test and made an immediate impact, leading Australia to an 82-run win and taking six wickets. With Australia already sealing the Ashes 2025 and going 3-0 up in the series, the team management has decided not to risk him further. Head coach Andrew McDonald has confirmed that the 32-year-old will miss the Boxing Day Test and will not take part in the rest of the series.
“He won’t play any part in the rest of the series. That was a discussion that we had a long time out around his return. To position him for further risk and jeopardise him long term is not something that we want to do. Pat’s really comfortable with that. If he had any setback in the build-in as well, we would have shut him down straight away” McDonald told reporters on December 23.
Jhye Richardson has been included in the squad and could also feature in the playing XI. The right-arm pacer is returning from injury, and the last time he played a Test match was during the Ashes 2021.
Since Pat Cummins is out, Steve Smith returns to the side and will lead the team as captain. He missed the third Test due to injury.
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Australia have not really missed their captain so far in the series. In the first two Tests, Steve Smith did a fine job as stand-in captain, supported well by pacers Mitchell Starc, Scott Boland, and Michael Neser.
Pat Cummins returned for the third Test and made an immediate impact, taking three wickets in each innings and helping Australia win the match. With Smith injured ahead of the third Test, the return of Cummins proved to be a perfect move for Australia. They have already retained the Ashes 2025 and are now close to another whitewash against England at home.
For the right-arm pacer, retaining the urn also means there is less pressure to rush him back again, allowing Australia to manage his workload carefully.
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