Ashes 2023: Pat Cummins yet to decide on Australian team for Headingley as Cameron Green trains lightly

Lord’s “took it out of” Ben Stokes – so will he bowl at Headingley? Plus, Australia’s selectors are asking big questions of their own. Here’s the lastest on the third Test teams.

Ben Stokes concedes he may do little or no bowling at Headingley this week after his already troublesome body took a battering at Lord’s.

The England captain’s 155 in his side’s ultimately foiled run chase came after he bowled 12 consecutive overs in Australia’s second innings.

The star all-rounder has been plagued by a chronic knee which makes his very involvement in this series precarious.

With just a four-day gap between the second and third Tests, Stokes is therefore likely to be on light bowling duties in Leeds.

It is why England has sought to bolster its bowling for this Test, with the injured Ollie Pope being replaced by returning spinner Moeen Ali, while Mark Wood and Chris Woakes come in for Josh Tongue and Jimmy Anderson on the pace front.

“I’m not gonna lie that last week, sort of took it out of me a little bit,” Stokes said.

“So a big part of something that I had to think of as what would be the best team if I wasn’t to bowl a ball this game, in the worst case scenario. Doesn’t mean I’m not going to bowl but that was a huge part of the thinking about the team that we picked.”

England captain Ben Stokes may not bowl at all in the third Test. Picture: Stu Forster/Getty Images

The short turnaround between Tests has also been given as a reason for the omission of Anderson, who turns 41 later this month and has struggled thus far in the series.

“We were very sort of open and honest and clear with each other before the series started that it’s going to be a very tough, for us fast bowlers to play every game this summer. And look, it’s a good chance for Jimmy to have a rest up and then get ready to charge in from the Jimmy Anderson end at Old Trafford next week,” Stokes said.

“Look, it’s great to have Woody fit, he’s firing and ready to go this week, looking forward to seeing him get going here.”

With vice-captain Pope missing, there is no designated deputy for England, with Stokes saying that the hosts’ bowlers would take it upon themselves to set their fields should the captain be forced off the field.

“I’ve been off the field a few times and just sort of given the responsibility of the bowlers to set their fields and do what they want to do. I think they’re all very aware of how they want to operate even without me there,” Stokes said.

“I find myself talking less and less now to the team because everyone just sort of gets it and sort of understands how I want us to play our cricket with the ball. That’s just thinking about wickets all the time. How do you need to bowl to get a wicket? What kind of fields do you need to bowl to maybe influence a mistake from the batter? So if I do find myself off the field, I’ll be very confident that whoever’s bowling will be able to still implement the plans that I would do anyway.”

The short turnaround also means Jimmy Anderson will be rested. Picture: Stu Forster/Getty Images

While he eventually exploded with nine second innings sixes, Stokes batted relatively sedately to start both of his innings, in contrast to many of his teammates. But the captain said there would be no team-wide batting manifesto.

“The only thing I would say is that our execution could have been slightly better with whatever way we decided to play last week,” Stokes said.

“I went out with a different mindset when I went out to bat in both innings to what you would have seen from other players but that was me going out with a clear mind around getting through till the next day. If I had gone in any earlier, I probably would have thought a lot different about how to take it on, but I’m very clear in my mind when I go out every innings how I want to play as every other batter and as is all the bowlers.”

Questions over Green as Aussies weigh up changes

Australia was leaving a call on its XI for the third Test to the eleventh hour with concerns over workloads shaping discussions.

Captain Pat Cummins confirmed on Wednesday before training that off-spinner Todd Murphy would replace the injured Nathan Lyon in the XI however the composition of the rest of the attack remains up in the air.

Scott Boland was being considered to replace fellow paceman Josh Hazlewood, who has already played two straight Tests, while intrigue also developed over the status of all-rounder Cameron Green.

The West Australian was on light duties at Headingley, while understudy Mitchell Marsh was prominent.

That in and of itself does not mean much given it was an optional session, however Cummins had earlier hinted that Hazlewood was not the only member of the Lord’s XI who could join Lyon on the outer for this match.

Green bowled 22 overs in the win at Lord’s, going at 5.77 runs per over, although sources downplayed the significance of his absence.

Pat Cummins has hinted at bowling line-up changes beyond the injury to Nathan Lyon. Picture: Stu Forster/Getty Images

“Murph will come in for Nath, but we‘re just going to work through a couple of other guys today. Mainly just having a look at how everyone’s recovered,” Cummins said.

“And again, we haven‘t made a decision. So literally the last couple of days us bowlers haven’t been here. We’ve been chilling out. So we’ll get together this afternoon and talk through a few different scenarios really.”

Should Marsh replace Green, it would be his first Test since the 2019 Ashes.

Cummins backed Murphy to perform in Lyon’s absence.

“He was fantastic in India. His composure for a debutant was fantastic. He is quite clever, he has a few different tricks. He mixes up his pace well. He is not afraid to try new things, over the wicket, around the wicket. Really excited to see how he goes this week. He is still young, starting out his career but he‘s very accomplished. But lots of tricks and hopefully we see a confident Todd out there.”

Originally published as Ashes 2023: Pat Cummins yet to decide on Australian team for Headingley as Cameron Green trains lightly