Australia to bat first in third Ashes test as Smith ruled out

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Cricket - The Ashes - Australia v England - Third Test - Adelaide Oval, Adelaide, Australia - December 17, 2025 Australias Pat Cummins and Englands Ben Stokes before the match REUTERS/Asanka Brendon Ratnayake

ADELAIDE, Dec 17 - Australia captain Pat Cummins won the toss and elected to bat first in the third Ashes test ‍against ​England at Adelaide Oval on Wednesday ‍but the hosts suffered a late blow with Steve Smith ruled ​out ​of the match.

* Usman Khawaja will take Smiths place at number four inthe batting order, while Travis Head and ‍Jake Weatherald willcontinue their opening partnership. * Smith was struck in ​the groin with a ⁠ball in the netsduring training. Cummins said the master batter had been feelingunwell for a couple of days. He came in and gave ​it a crackthis morning but didnt feel like he could get up, Cumminssaid. * England ‌captain Ben Stokes, who ​lost his first toss ofthe series, said he would also have batted, with the openingdays set for scorching weather. * Australia, who hold the Ashes, lead the series 2-0 aftereight-wicket wins in Perth and Brisbane.

Teams:

Australia - Travis Head, Jake Weatherald, Marnus Labuschagne, Usman ‍Khawaja, Cameron Green, Alex Carey, Josh Inglis, Pat Cummins (capt),​Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon, Scott Boland

England - Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie ​Pope, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben ‌Stokes (capt),Jamie Smith, Will Jacks, Brydon Carse, Jofra Archer, Josh Tongue REUTERS