Australia's Cummins and Lyon out of rest of Ashes

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Stephan Shemilt

Melbourne’s Chief Cricket Reporter

22 December 2025

487 Comments

Updated 23 December 2025 06: 14 GMT

The Ashes series will start with Australia’s Boxing Day Test against England in Melbourne and will feature skipper Pat Cummins and spinner Nathan Lyon.

After rushing his return from a back injury to play in Adelaide’s crucial third Test, Cummins is being rested for the fourth and fifth Tests.

No date has been set for Spinner Lyon’s recovery after undergoing surgery on his hamstring injury on Tuesday in Adelaide.

In Cummins’ absence, Batter Steve Smith, who missed the third Test with illness, will once more lead, while Todd Murphy takes Lyon’s place.

Jhye Richardson, a fast bowler, joins Cummins’ squad.

Following his West Indies tour in July, Cummins developed a back issue. He explained how, in order to participate in the Ashes, he had reduced a recovery period that should have taken three or four months to six or seven weeks.

The 32-year-old won’t be risked because he will be able to wait to see if he will be fit for the T20 World Cup in India and Sri Lanka, which will start in February, because the urn has been retained inside three Tests.

Head coach Andrew McDonald remarked, “We were taking on some risk.” The series has now been won, according to the team.

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, and Beau Webster make the Australian team for the fourth Ashes Test.

Lyon, 38, was excluded from the second Test after only two overs in one match.

He took five wickets in the third Test before suffering a right hamstring injury and had to make a diving stop on the boundary when he returned to the Australia team.

Lyon previously had a calf issue in the second Test at Lord’s in 2023, making it the second time he has been excluded from an Ashes series.

He “is pretty shattered,” McDonald remarked. Tomorrow, he’ll rejoin the team and be present for the test. He needs to make a long recovery.

Usman Khawaja was substituted for the third Test before Smith was called back on the morning of the match when Smith was declared ineffective, which will result in a second reshuffle in the Australia starting lineup.

Left-hander Josh Inglis is likely to be left-hander Khawaja, who scored scores of 82 and 40 in Adelaide, but he is now more likely to be retained. At number five, wicketkeeper Alex Carey at six, and all-rounder Cameron Green at seven, would Khawaja play.

For the Boxing Day Test, England trained at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Tuesday and are expected to make at least two changes.