<\/p>\n
The opportunity that England squandered in Perth appears to have presented itself once more after Australia opted to play it safe with Pat Cummins and name an unchanged squad for next week\u2019s day-night second Test at the Gabba.<\/p>\n
Beyond their match-defining collapse on the second afternoon, one of the most galling aspects of England\u2019s eight-wicket defeat in the first Test was the fact that both Cummins and Josh Hazlewood \u2013 two members of their fabled fast bowling group \u2013 were missing.<\/p>\n But the situation officially remains unchanged as Ben Stokes and his tourists look to level the five-match series starting in Brisbane on 4 December. Hazlewood is still absent with a hamstring injury, while Cummins has been held back despite a recent return to training that has included bowling with the pink Kookaburra ball.<\/p>\n Cricket Australia offered no specifics regarding this delay for Cummins other than to say Australia\u2019s Test captain will still travel with the squad. Local reports have since suggested the 32-year-old, recovering from a lower back stress injury picked up in July, could yet force a late rethink.<\/p>\n Had Australia lost in Perth, as was a distinct possibility before England\u2019s second innings imploded, the need for Cummins to rush back for the Gabba would have been far greater. As it stands, Steve Smith will once again captain a side that can get within touching distance of retaining the urn with a second successive win.<\/p>\n Unchanged though the 14-man squad is, Australia still have decisions to make regarding the final XI. Back spasms made Usman Khawaja a passenger in Perth, and with Travis Head ransacking a match-sealing 69-ball century as a makeshift opener, there are growing calls for the promotion to be made permanent.<\/p>\n Head continuing at the top \u2013 a role he already performs in one-day international cricket \u2013 would then open up a middle order berth for either the in-form Josh Inglis or a second all-rounder in Beau Webster. If so, then Khawaja, 38 and having seen his numbers drop this past year, could be heading towards international retirement.<\/p>\n Khawaja revealed at a charity event on Friday that had Head not wiped off the 204-run target on the second evening of the match, he would have undergone an epidural the following day in order to be available to bat.<\/p>\n The opener has also raised eyebrows as regards his view of the pitch at Perth Stadium, disagreeing with the official rating of \u201cvery good\u201d handed down by the International Cricket Council\u2019s match referee Ranjan Madugalle.<\/p>\n According to a report in the Sydney Morning Herald<\/a>, Khawaja said: \u201c[There were] 19 wickets on the first day, about 20 people got hit \u2013 that\u2019s a great wicket, that seems real fair? \u201cThe same thing happened last year, that day one wicket…<\/p>\n