Australia’s star batsman Steve Smith missed training ahead of the upcoming third Test of the Ashes 2025-26 series due to illness. Meanwhile, aggressive batsman Travis Head is likely to continue as the opener in the next match, which is scheduled to begin on Wednesday, December 17 at the Adelaide Oval.
Smith has a good record in Tests at Adelaide Oval. According to ESPNcricinfo, he has scored more than 650 Test runs at an average of 43.46, including one century and four half-centuries. The right-handed batsman has scored 174 runs in three matches against England at an average of 34.80, including one half-century.
Australia has taken an early lead in the series by winning the first two tests. Victory in the upcoming Test will be enough for them to capture the series.
Steve Smith’s illness has created uncertainty about Australia’s selection
According to Code Cricket, Australia’s batting order remains a bit uncertain. Steve Smith missed the training session due to illness. Although his absence from the nets has raised some questions, the issue is not considered serious. Smith trained the previous day and is expected to be back in action before the match.
One anchor said, “There’s still some intrigue about the makeup of Australia’s top six or seven, especially with Steve Smith in the works a little bit.”
“He is feeling a bit unwell today and did not train, but there is no major cause for concern. He trained yesterday and is planning to train again on the eve of the match. However, since he was not in today’s session, he did not take part in slip fielding either,” he said.
Steve Smith’s absence from the nets and slips training due to illness has thrown the Australian middle-order into disarray ahead of the third Test, as Travis Head’s place in the team is up for grabs.
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– Code Cricket (@codecricketau) 15 December 2025
Travis Head set to continue as opening batsman after facing the new ball in training
Australia’s team combination remains unstable, with Beau Webster, Josh Inglis and Usman Khawaja all rotating in the slips during training, leaving uncertainty over who among them will make the final eleven.
Meanwhile, Travis Head faced the new ball in training. The left-handed batsman will continue as an opening batsman, as he did in the second Test after his century in Perth.
“Webster, Josh Inglis and Usman Khawaja were all fielding in the slip circle and rotating with Marnus Labuschagne. This makes it unclear which, if any, of those three will play in this Test, although it is likely that at least one will.”
“Either way, whoever is selected is set to bat in the middle order, as Travis Head faces the new ball, which suggests he will continue to open the batting as he did in the first two Tests following his century in Perth.”
Australia announces team for third test, Pat Cummins returns
Australia have strengthened their squad for the third Ashes Test with the return of Pat Cummins, who has returned from a back injury. He is the only change from a group that has already put England under pressure with a 2-0 lead in the five-match series.
Australia dominated the first two tests. They finished the first match quickly with an eight-wicket win and followed it up with another one-sided win in Brisbane by the same margin.
The second Test was particularly impressive, as Australia were missing several senior bowlers including Cummins, Josh Hazlewood and Nathan Lyon. Mitchell Starc took eight wickets and scored valuable runs with the bat, earning the Player of the Match award.
Also read: England’s playing XI for the third Ashes 2025-26 test announced; gus atkinson dropped
