Ashes 2025-26: Pat Cummins set to return for the third Test; Josh Hazlewood ruled out

Australian Test captain Pat Cummins is all set to make his return from injury break and lead the national side in the third Ashes 2025-26 Test against England at the Adelaide Oval, starting on Wednesday, December 17.

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Unfortunately, his fellow pacer Josh Hazlewood will miss the remainder of the Ashes 2025-26 series after suffering another injury setback. Hazlewood, who sustained a hamstring strain last month, hurt his Achilles tendon last week and has been ruled out of the England Test series.

Head Coach Andrew McDonald also confirmed that Hazlewood will aim to make his return ahead of the ICC T20 World Cup 2026, scheduled to be played in February and March next year in India and Sri Lanka.

"Really flat for him. A couple of setbacks that we didn't see coming. We thought he'd play a huge part in the series. But really feel for him that he won't get that opportunity,” McDonald told reporters on Tuesday, December 9.

Furthermore, McDonald also assured that the full-time skipper, Cummins, who hasn’t played any cricket in almost five months, to make his comeback for the remainder of the Ashes 2025-26 series, taking over as captain from Steve Smith.

"There won't be any match opportunities for Pat (before Adelaide) – and this is something we've done with Pat before long-ish layoffs, where we've put some time and effort into rebuilding his body," he added.

"He was out at Allan Border Field whilst everyone was at the Gabba; he simulated pretty much what a match will look like out there with multiple spells. So we feel as though he'll be as best prepared as can be. He was well ahead of where we thought he'd be at and it did create a real live conversation for (Cummins playing in) Brisbane,” McDonald stated.

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Australia is currently leading the five-match Test series 2-0 with three more games left.

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