AUS vs SA | Pat Cummins to replace Michael Neser for first Test at Gabba
Australia have announced their playing XI for the first Test of the series against South Africa, with Pat Cummins set to return as the skipper for the game scheduled to be played at The Gabba. The pacer has recovered from his quad injury and will replace Michel Neser for the series opener.
After pulling off a whitewash in the recent Test series against West Indies, Australia are set to square off against South Africa for three Tests at home. The hosts have announced the squad for the first Test and it marks the return of Pat Cummins after he sustained a quad injury during the series against West Indies, forcing him to miss the second Test. The skipper will replace Michael Neser in what is the only change in the lineup from the latest encounter.
Brisbane typically offers a surface helpful for pace bowlers and with two strong sides contesting in the longest format, it would be an interesting encounter to watch. Ahead of the game, Cummins has stated that there’s a bit of grass on the surface.
"A couple of the boys said it's similar to what they've seen here in the past. It looks like there's a bit of grass. So we'll see how it looks tomorrow,” Cummins said, reported cricket.com.au.
"The last couple of years it's played a bit different to how it has in the past. It's a funny one the Gabba – even if it has got grass on it, you do really need to bowl well.”
South Africa have a formidable pace attack of their own, including Marco Jansen, Lungi Ngidi, Anrich Nortje, and Kagiso Rabada, capable of posing a tough challenge to the opposition.
"It looks like they've got a pretty well-rounded attack. Whether they play four or five bowlers, they've got a good spinner, a left-armer- they're going to be a challenge,” he explained.