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Three changes: Australia must be bold with Gabba selection
Adam White • December 1st, 2025 12:16 pm
I want to talk about the second Test team for Thursday for a moment.
And I think Australia has to be bold.
Fight fire with fire and set a team up to go 2-0 up in the series, taking into account the way England plays and the conditions in Brisbane with a pink ball under the lights.
This might sound a little bit from left field, but I’ve had a good think about it over the weekend and I think this is the team that Australia should go with… not the team I think they will go with necessarily.
Possible second Test XI
1 - Jake Weatherald2 - Travis Head3 - Marnus Labuschagne4 - Steve Smith5 - Cam Green6 - Josh Inglis7 - Beau Webster8 - Alex Carey9 - Michael Neser10 - Mitch Starc11 - Scott Boland
So, no Nathan Lyon, no Usman Khawaja, no Brendan Doggett from Perth.
Head should open the batting again, which means Khawaja does go out of the side, and Josh Inglis takes the batting spot at six with Green moving up to five.
I could potentially and probably would bring back Uzzie to play in Adelaide where it might be more of a grind, testing the technique on the thatchy surface, as opposed to what we’re going to get in Brisbane.
Under those circumstances Travis Head goes back to five and Inglis probably misses out.
The Lyon choice is purely circumstantial.
I just don’t think Lyon would bowl much in this game, so I’m playing Webster instead.
If Lyon does play in what is likely to be a lower scoring game under lights at the Gabba, the English will likely go after him which might make him a player the Aussies don’t use very much.
He missed in Jamaica for all the reasons I think he should miss in Brisbane.
That doesn’t mean he doesn’t play in Adelaide but under the circumstances he doesn’t play in Brisbane.
What also happens if playing Webster instead of Lyon is there is extra batting insurance, you get a versatile bowler - bowls mediums or spin if required - is more important in these conditions.
The last one is a bit of a toss up because Doggett didn’t do anything wrong in Perth.
But I like Michael Neser at home at the Gabba with a pink ball, and he is handy with the bat when it’s likely to be really tough to bat at certain times.
We then have an Australian team that’s covering all bases.
That’s the team I would have for Brisbane. What do you think?
The Gabba Test kicks off on Thursday from 2pm local time (3pm AEDT) with every ball LIVE across the SEN network.
