Usman Khawaja left out of Australia’s XI for third Ashes Test in Adelaide
Usman Khawaja could be facing the end of his international career after being overlooked for the third Ashes Test.Pat Cummins, who will return to captain Australia after what he called an “aggressive” rehabilitation from his back injury, has just about kept the door ajar for the opener.Cummins is one of two changes for the hosts as they look to take an unassailable 3-0 lead in this Ashes series.Nathan Lyon makes a comeback on his former home ground, with Brendon Doggett and Michael Neser the bowlers to miss out despite the latter’s five-wicket haul in Brisbane.But arguably the biggest call was to shoulder arms to Khawaja after his return from a back injury.
About to turn 39 this week, the left-hander has essentially lost his spot due to Travis Head’s impact from the top of the order, and a desire to give Josh Inglis a run as an attacking wildcard at No 7.Cummins said: “The big thing that shifted on us is probably Trav opening in that first Test, and how good that’s looked with Jake Weatherald.So we’re pretty happy with that and didn’t feel like a need to change the middle order.“[Khawaja] is in the squad.If we didn’t think he’d be good enough to come in, then he wouldn’t be here in the squad.
So absolutely, I can see a path back at some point...if needed.”The Damascene moment came during the second innings of the eight-wicket victory in Perth, Head stepping up after the injury to Khawaja and blazing 123 from 83 balls to ice a target of 205 runs.
Head, having previously been coy about his interest in the role, walked off the field convinced.“[Head and Weatherald] really set up the platform for our innings,” Cummins said.“And so far, the few times they’ve batted I think you’ve seen people like Marnus [Labuschagne] and Steve [Smith] walk in after that as well, and really get on the back of that and start their innings well.“I don’t know if it has scrambled the opposition but it’s certainly got that momentum and kept that scoreboard ticking over.“Obviously we’ve gone through a few openers over the last couple of years and Trav has always said, ‘If you need me I’m happy to do it’.
When he was running off at Perth Stadium, he goes: ‘I think it’s my time, I think it’s me’,”Cummins has been with the squad while Steve Smith deputised for the first two Tests, diligently ticking off the final boxes of his extensive fitness programme,The initial detection of his lower back “hotspot” – the early signs of a stress fracture – followed the 3-0 win in the Caribbean in July,The 32-year-old, who suffered from this issue early on in his career, revealed this return is earlier than expected, with the lure of the Ashes series too strong,A comeback in Brisbane would have meant a restriction on his overs but, having sat it out, there are no guard rails in place this week.
On an injury that first started to show itself during the third Test in Jamaica, Cummins said: “I was feeling a little bit sore.I got an initial scan that showed something potentially brewing.The next scan can show a bit more and four weeks later I had another and it just looked a bit more serious.“We know the pathway that you need to do to come back from a stress injury like that.So I had 16 weeks completely off bowling and made sure the bone heals really well.
Then from there it’s ramping up [the bowling].“I might be getting this wrong but [typically] this is over three or four months but that obviously would have meant that I missed the Ashes.So we set on a pretty aggressive plan to kind of get up in six or seven weeks and haven’t had any hiccups.I feel better than I would have thought.“I know I got asked a million times in the off-season ‘are you going to play?’ and I genuinely didn’t know.
If there was a flare-up or a setback I wouldn’t have played,But yeah, I feel like I’ve been really well managed,”Australia: Jake Weatherald, Travis Head, Marnus Labuschagne, Steve Smith (captain), Cameron Green, Alex Carey, Josh Inglis, Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon Scott Boland,
UK politics: Polanski claims Green support surging in London as five Labour councillors defect in Brent – as it happened
The Green party has announced that five councillors in Brent have defected to it from Labour. It describes this as the biggest block defection yet to the Green party.The defections follow seven others to the Green in London since September, when Zack Polanski took over as leader and party membership started to soar.Announcing the switches, Polanski said:The Green surge has just widened in London. What we’re witnessing in Brent mirrors what we’re hearing across the country on doorsteps and in polls
Former Scottish secretary hits out at ‘humiliating’ sacking by Keir Starmer in reshuffle
The former Scottish secretary Ian Murray has hit out at the prime minister for his “humiliating” sacking, despite deciding to remain a minister in the government.In a candid interview Murray said he had felt underappreciated in his cabinet role, and that he had been in two minds whether to accept his current position as technology minister.The minister also directly criticised Keir Starmer’s approach to the reshuffle, saying he had not given him an adequate explanation as to why he was moved.Murray’s comments underline how unhappy several ministers and ex-ministers remain about the September reshuffle. Several were moved to make way for new MPs to join the fold – including Murray, who was replaced by the recently returned former foreign secretary, Douglas Alexander
Labour’s Andrew Gwynne says he has no plans to give up seat for Andy Burnham
The former health minister Andrew Gwynne has dismissed as “idle speculation” reports he could resign his seat as part of an Andy Burnham “coup” against Keir Starmer.Allies of Burnham were reported on Sunday to have identified a shortlist of seats to allow the Greater Manchester mayor to return to Westminster in the new year.One of these seats is said to be that of Gwynne, who was suspended by the Labour party in February after a leak of offensive WhatsApp messages.One source was quoted as saying that Burnham allies had found a “nailed on” constituency, while another reportedly said a seat was “likely to come free shortly” before the local elections in May.In a post on X on Sunday, Burnham dismissed the reports as “quite a lot of rubbish”, adding: “Reminds me why I left Westminster in the first place!”However, the former health secretary – who has been critical of Starmer’s leadership – has refused repeatedly to deny he would return to parliament if the opportunity arose
Shabana Mahmood dismisses White House’s ‘civilisational erasure’ claims
The US government’s claims that Europe faces “civilisational erasure” because of mass migration are an attempt to score political points against Muslims, the home secretary has suggested.Shabana Mahmood dismissed the idea that European civilisation and national identities were under threat because of migration and said the UK had managed the challenges of multiculturalism “very well”.Her comments are the strongest response from a government minister so far to Donald Trump’s national security strategy. Published this month, it triggered alarm with its wide-ranging attack on European governments and suggestion that the US should promote “patriotic” political parties.Asked by Trevor Phillips on Sky News to respond to the strategy and its implicit criticism of Muslims in Europe, Mahmood said: “Others will want to make political points about whether there’s too many Muslims in Europe or not
Reeves’s planning overhaul stalls as senior adviser quits after four months
Rachel Reeves’s attempts to overhaul Britain’s planning laws have been dealt a blow after a senior lawyer whom she appointed as an adviser decided to leave the government after just four months.Catherine Howard will leave the Treasury when her contract ends on 1 January, despite having been asked informally to stay on indefinitely.Howard is understood to have warned the government against pushing ahead immediately with some of its more radical proposals to sweep aside planning regulations in an effort to encourage more infrastructure projects.Her decision to leave the post comes amid disagreements at the top of government about how far to push its deregulation agenda, with some senior officials warning that Keir Starmer’s latest attempt to kickstart major building schemes could damage EU relations.Disquiet is also growing among some Labour MPs, with 30 writing to the prime minister this week urging not to push ahead with some of his more radical planning reforms
Victims of sexual offences face ‘postcode lottery’ with police, says home secretary – as it happened
The home secretary, Shabana Mahmood, has said victims of sexual offences face “a postcode lottery” in terms of how the police will deal with their report.“It is a postcode lottery at the moment if you are a victim in terms of the standard of service you are going to get when your allegation is being investigated by the police and whether that is going to lead to charges ultimately and hopefully a successful prosecution”, Mahmood told Trevor Phillips on Sky News.The home secretary was responding to claims from the Institute for Government that currently up to 50 per cent of police officers currently on sexual violence and rape squads are trainees. She said the government plans to get a specialist squad in ever force.Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood tells @TrevorPTweets that the standard of police responses to rape and sexual assault allegations is currently a "postcode lottery" as she announces a new violence against women and girls strategy
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