Australia captain Pat Cummins says all selection options
will be considered when he chooses the XI for the critical fourth Ashes Test
against England in Manchester.
Cummins' side picked up their first defeat of the new ICC
World Test Championship cycle when falling to a three-wicket loss to their old
foe at Headingley on Sunday, but now have plenty of time to ponder what went
wrong ahead of the next Test of an absorbing series at Old Trafford from July
19.
The Aussies expect to have all-rounder Cameron Green and
experienced seamer Josh Hazlewood available for selection after they missed the
third Test, while a re-shuffle at the top of the batting order could also be on
the cards as Australia attempt to add to their 2-1 series lead.
Veteran opener David Warner fell twice to long-time nemesis
Stuart Broad at Headingley for scores of four and one, and the left-hander now
has 141 runs for the series at an average of 23.50.
Cummins said all options will be on the table when selecting
Australia's XI for Manchester and a decision would not be made until closer to
the Test and after seeing the conditions and state of the pitch.
"You keep all options open," Cummins said.
"We've got nine or 10 days now, so we'll take a deep
breath. We'll go away for a few days.
"But everyone comes back into it. Greeny should be fit
for Manchester. Josh (Hazlewood) will be back in there as well. So we should
have a full roster and we'll have a look at the wicket and have a chat and work
out the best XI."
Cummins stopped short of guaranteeing all-rounder Mitch
Marsh his place for Old Trafford, but admitted it would be difficult to leave
out the 31-year-old following his superb century at Headingley and solid
contributions with the ball.
"Yeah, it's possible but, I mean, it was a pretty impressive
week, wasn't it?" Cummins said of Marsh.
Cummins also expects to use inexperienced spinner Todd
Murphy more in Manchester, after the right-armer bowled just two overs during
England's second innings as the seamers were preferred at a critical junction
of the match.
Murphy managed just one wicket for the contest in what was
his first appearance of the series in the absence of first-choice spinner
Nathan Lyon, but Cummins thinks the 22-year-old can have more influence over
the remainder of the series.
"It was conditions based as it didn’t spin quite as
much as we thought it would," Cummins explained.
"We would have liked to have got Todd into the game a
bit more and I am sure next week in Manchester there will be a bit more spin
for him."