Racing
League
Rugby
Cricket
Golf
Motorsport
Combat Sports
Football
Netball
Basketball
Other Sports
Sport Nation
How to tune into Sport NationWhy Cummins' non-selection is the “right decision”
SEN • November 28th, 2025 6:06 pm
Code Sports’ Daniel Cherny believes that the decision to rest Australian Captain Pat Cummins for the Second Ashes Test is the right decision following the announcement of the 14-man squad.
On Friday, Cricket Australia would announce an unchanged squad for the Day/Night Test set to take place in Brisbane, with the fast bowler still set to travel with the team to continue preparations following his back injury.
While there had been plenty of speculation that Cummins would be selected for the squad after being spotted training with a pink ball on multiple occasions, the esteemed sports journalist thinks that waiting until the Third Test is the best course of action.
“I am very surprised,” Cherny admitted on SEN’s Afternoons.
“We were pretty confident that he was going to be in the squad, that was sort of the mail of yesterday, and then he’s rocked up and bowled with the pink ball at the SCG this morning.
“I don’t know if something has happened between then and now, but Andrew McDonald at the start of the week said that they were going to leave it pretty late to pick him.
“And he’s still going up to Brisbane, and I don’t know if that means he could still play even though he’s not in the squad, given he’s going to be there.
“My gut feel is that it is actually the right decision. I think this timeline all along has made the Third Test in Adelaide the best option once he started working his way back from bowling and the back issue that afflicted him.
“There were just quite strong murmurings that he was coming pretty close to playing in that Second Test, and given that it's still six days away, you think, ‘Ahh, why have they made a call so early, why not take him to Brisbane in the squad?’.
“And to a degree, it is semantics. He is going to be with the squad, he’s bowling in the nets, you’d imagine.
“They’ve used quite a vague term, ‘continuous preparation’. They haven’t said preparation for what? I mean, preparation to play for Australia at some stage this series, seemingly.
“But I think it makes some sense, but it is all very murky.”
The Second Test will begin on December 4 with SEN having LIVE coverage of every ball bowled through the Ashes series.
