Australia received two Ashes boots in the Sheffield Shield with Steve Smith hitting a hundred and captain Pat Cummins returning to net bowling.
Smith, who will replace Cummins (back) as Australia skipper in the first Test against England in Perth on November 21, scored 118 runs off 176 balls in New South Wales’ match against Queensland.
Smith’s Brisbane knock included 20 fours and a six, his first in red-ball cricket since the West Indies tour in June and July, and came against a Queensland side featuring Ashes team-mate Marnus Labuschagne.
Marnus Labuschagne is expected to feature for Australia in the opening Ashes match against England in Perth.
Labuschagne, who is yet to bat in this match, looks primed for a Test recall either as an opener or at number 3, his preferred position, after hitting 400 in six innings of red-ball and white-ball cricket for Queensland this season.
It was announced earlier this week that pace bowler Cummins would sit out the Ashes opener at Optus Stadium after failing to fully recover from a lumbar stress problem diagnosed in September.
Australia coach Andrew McDonald expects the 32-year-old to be fit for the day-night second Test in Brisbane from December 4 and the seamer putting his side through his paces at his training base in New South Wales, albeit a short distance away, was a welcome sight.
Pat Cummins is back in net bowling with his sights set on the second Ashes Test in Brisbane from December 4.
Smith has replaced Cummins six times since 2021, winning five Tests and drawing one, but it is his batting that will worry England the most.
The 36-year-old averages 56.01 in Ashes cricket and has amassed a total of 12 hundreds, 13 fifties and 3,417 runs in 37 Tests against England.
Smith failed to reach 100 goals when England last visited Australia in 2021/22, scoring a best of 93 in Adelaide, but he scored 110 at Lord’s during a 2-2 series draw at home in 2023 and notched two half-centuries at Kia Oval.
Ashes series 2025-26 in Australia
Always UK and Ireland
- First test: Friday, November 21st ~ Tuesday, November 25th (2:30 am) – Optus Stadium, Perth
- Second test (day/night): Thursday, December 4 – Monday, December 8 (4:30 am) – The Gabba, Brisbane
- Third test: Wednesday, December 17th ~ Sunday, December 21st (12am) – Adelaide Oval
- Fourth test: Thursday, December 25 – Monday, December 29 (11:30 PM) – Melbourne Cricket Ground
- Fifth test: Sunday, January 4 – Thursday, January 8 (11:30 PM) – Sydney Cricket Ground
