Sydney. The Australian team for the Boxing Day Test match has been announced. The captain himself has been ruled out of the fourth Test match of the ongoing five-match Ashes series against England. Pat Cummins, who captained in the third Test match, will not be a part of the Australian team in the fourth Test match. Apart from him, spinner Nathan Lyon is also out of the 15-member team. For the Australian team, which has captured the series by winning 3 matches, now there is no reason to worry about the captain being out, because he did not play for Australia even in the first two Test matches. Steve Smith will captain in his place.
Australia has announced a 15-man squad for the Boxing Day Test against England, omitting captain Pat Cummins and veteran spinner Nathan Lyon. Off-spinner Todd Murphy and fast bowler Jhye Richardson have been included in the squad and will be in contention to play in the fourth Test of the series. In the absence of Cummins, the team will be captained by Steve Smith, who was also the captain in the first two Test matches, but was not available for selection in the third Test due to a head injury.
All-rounders Michael Neser, Beau Webster and backup pacer Brendon Doggett were also part of Australia’s squad in the Adelaide Test, but missed the game. However, he is still in the team. Australia won by 82 runs in Adelaide and the host team took an unassailable 3-0 lead. Cummins has been rested for the Melbourne Test as he has recently returned from his back problem and the captain has a chance to play in the final Test of the series in Sydney from January 4. He did not even play the first two tests.
Australia team (only for the fourth test)
Steve Smith (captain), Scott Boland, Alex Carey (wk), Brendan Doggett, Cameron Green, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Todd Murphy, Michael Neser, Jhye Richardson, Mitchell Starc, Jake Weatherald, Beau Webster.
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