Usman Khawaja could be facing the end of his international career after being overlooked for the third Ashes Test. Pat Cummins, who will return to captain Australia after what he called an “aggressive” rehabilitation from his back injury, has just about kept the door ajar for the opener.
Cummins is one of two changes for the hosts as they look to take an unassailable 3-0 lead in this Ashes series. Nathan Lyon makes a comeback on his former home ground, with Brendon Doggett and Michael Neser the bowlers to miss out despite the latter’s five-wicket haul in Brisbane.
But arguably the biggest call was to shoulder arms to Khawaja after his return from a back injury. About to turn 39 this week, the left-hander has essentially lost his spot due to Travis Head’s impact from the top of the order, and a desire to give Josh Inglis a run as an attacking wildcard at No 7.
Cummins said: “The big thing that shifted on us is probably Trav opening in that first Test, and how good that’s looked with Jake Weatherald. So we’re pretty happy with that and didn’t feel like a need to change the middle order.
“[Khawaja] is in the squad. If we didn’t think he’d be good enough to come in, then he wouldn’t be here in the squad. So absolutely, I can see a path back at some point ... if needed.”
The Damascene moment came during the second innings of the eight-wicket victory in Perth, Head stepping up after the injury to Khawaja and blazing 123 from 83 balls to ice a target of 205 runs. Head, having previously been coy about his interest in the role, walked off the field convinced.
“[Head and Weatherald] really set up the platform for our innings,” Cummins said. “And so far, the few times they’ve batted I think you’ve seen people like Marnus [Labuschagne] and Steve [Smith] walk in after that as well, and really get on the back of that and start their innings well.
“I don’t know if it has scrambled the opposition but it’s certainly got that momentum and kept that scoreboard ticking over.
“Obviously we’ve gone through a few openers over the last couple of years and Trav has always said, ‘If you need me I’m happy to do it’. When he was running off at Perth Stadium, he goes: ‘I think it’s my time, I think it’s me’.”
Cummins has been with the squad while Steve Smith deputised for the first two Tests, diligently ticking off the final boxes of his extensive fitness programme. The initial detection of his lower back “hotspot” – the early signs of a stress fracture – followed the 3-0 win in the Caribbean in July.
The 32-year-old, who suffered from this issue early on in his career, revealed this return is earlier than expected, with the lure of the Ashes series too strong. A comeback in Brisbane would have meant a restriction on his overs but, having sat it out, there are no guard rails in place this week.
On an injury that first started to show itself during the third Test in Jamaica, Cummins said: “I was feeling a little bit sore. I got an initial scan that showed something potentially brewing. The next scan can show a bit more and four weeks later I had another and it just looked a bit more serious.
“We know the pathway that you need to do to come back from a stress injury like that. So I had 16 weeks completely off bowling and made sure the bone heals really well. Then from there it’s ramping up [the bowling].
“I might be getting this wrong but [typically] this is over three or four months but that obviously would have meant that I missed the Ashes. So we set on a pretty aggressive plan to kind of get up in six or seven weeks and haven’t had any hiccups. I feel better than I would have thought.
“I know I got asked a million times in the off-season ‘are you going to play?’ and I genuinely didn’t know. If there was a flare-up or a setback I wouldn’t have played. But yeah, I feel like I’ve been really well managed.”
Australia: Jake Weatherald, Travis Head, Marnus Labuschagne, Steve Smith (captain), Cameron Green, Alex Carey, Josh Inglis, Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon Scott Boland.
