Overview:
Flags were flown at half-mast at the Adelaide Oval on Day 1 of the third test.
ADELAIDE, Australia (AP) — Australia star Steve Smith was ruled out of the third Ashes cricket test against England just before the toss of the coin on Wednesday because of a lingering illness.
Smith led Australia to eight-wicket wins in Perth and Brisbane in the absence of regular skipper Pat Cummins. He hit the winning runs in Brisbane as Australia took a 2-0 lead in the five-match series.
Veteran opener Usman Khawaja was recalled to the starting lineup as a last-minute replacement for Smith. Khawaja missed the second test with a back injury.
Fast bowler Cummins won the toss and elected to bat in his first test since recovering from a back problem. England needs a victory in the third test to have any chance of reclaiming the Ashes.
Players were wearing black armbands to honour the 15 people killed and dozens injured in an antisemitic attack at Sydney’s iconic Bondi Beach on Sunday that targeted the Jewish community celebrating the start of Hanukkah.
Police described the mass shooting as a terrorist attack inspired by the Islamic State.
Flags were flown at half-mast at the Adelaide Oval on Day 1 of the third test.
Cricket Australia invited folk singer John Williamson to perform his fabled song “True Blue” in a pre-match program that included a moment’s silence, the Indigenous “Welcome to Country” and the Australian and England anthems.
Playing XIs
Australia 1 Jake Weatherald, 2 Travis Head, 3 Marnus Labuschagne, 4 Usman Khawaja, 5 Cameron Green, 6 Alex Carey (wk), 7 Josh Inglis, 8 Pat Cummins (capt), 9 Mitchell Starc, 10 Nathan Lyon, 11 Scott Boland
England 1 Zak Crawley, 2 Ben Duckett, 3 Ollie Pope, 4 Joe Root, 5 Harry Brook, 6 Ben Stokes (capt), 7 Jamie Smith (wk), 8 Will Jacks, 9 Brydon Carse, 10 Jofra Archer, 11 Josh Tongue
Comments are closed.