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MELBOURNE: England completed a dramatic four-wicket win over Australia in the fourth Test of the Ashes at Melbourne on Saturday after a low-scoring contest dominated by fast bowlers. Set a target of 175, England were bowled out for 110 in their first innings before recovering in the second to reach 178 for six, sealing victory late on day two. Australia were dismissed for 152 and 132 across their two innings.&nbsp;The match at the Melbourne Cricket Ground saw collapses from both sides.&nbsp; Australia&rsquo;s first innings was undone by Josh Tongue, who claimed five wickets, while Gus Atkinson and Brydon Carse provided strong support.&nbsp;Michael Neser was Australia&rsquo;s top scorer with 35.&nbsp;England&rsquo;s reply faltered early as Mitchell Starc and Neser tore through the top order, leaving them reeling at 16 for four. A counter-attacking 41 from Harry Brook steadied the innings briefly before they were bowled out for 110.&nbsp;In Australia&rsquo;s second innings, Travis Head scored a fighting 46 but the hosts were again bundled out cheaply, with Carse and Ben Stokes sharing key wickets.&nbsp; Chasing 175, England lost early wickets but held their nerve, finishing the job with four wickets in hand. Jacob Bethell contributed 40 and Zak Crawley 37. &quot;A good feeling, a tough tour up to now,&quot; said England skipper Ben Stokes. &quot;After the build-up to the Test, a lot thrown our way, to put in a performance on the back of all that, and beat a very good Australian team, a lot of credit has to go to players, staff and management for keeping the focus on cricket. &quot;Very proud. We showed bravery and were courageous.&quot; England crashed in the first three Tests and came to Melbourne under enormous pressure amid questions about their limited preparations and allegations of excessive drinking during a mid-series beach break. But they finally came good and will head to Sydney for the fifth and final Test brimming with confidence. England had not won a Test in Australia since January 2011 at Sydney, losing 16 and drawing two since, and openers Crawley and Ben Duckett had a clear objective to snap the streak -- play ultra-aggressive &quot;Bazball&quot; style. Duckett hit a boundary off Mitchell Starc in his first over while Crawley slammed Michael Neser for a six and a four in successive balls. They brought up a whirlwind fifty opening partnership but next ball Duckett was bowled by a Starc yorker for 34. Fast bowler Brydon Carse then strode to the middle as a surprise number three in place of Bethell. But England&#39;s pinch-hitting experiment failed as Carse lasted only eight balls before skying Jhye Richardson to Cameron Green. Crawley fell lbw to Scott Boland after a gritty knock and Bethell was caught by Usman Khawaja from the same bowler. Richardson trapped Joe Root lbw for 15 and Starc accounted for Ben Stokes for two, but by then only 10 runs were needed and Brook and Smith completed the job. &quot;It was a tricky one, a quick game,&quot; said Australia captain Steve Smith. &quot;If we had got 50-60 more in both innings then things might have been different. The wicket played as expected, but once the ball softened, it didn&#39;t quite behave the way I&#39;d hoped. &quot;When you see 36 wickets fall in two days, that probably tells you it did a bit more than intended,&quot; he added of the MCG pitch.

Cricket

Australia still lead the five-match series 3-1.

England beat Australia in fourth Ashes Test by 4 wickets

ADELAIDE: A dominant Australia collected the last four wickets they needed Sunday, to win the third Test and retain the Ashes in just 11 days of cricket, crushing the dreams of an England side who finally showed some fight.&nbsp;England&#39;s dogged resistance on day five at Adelaide Oval lasted into the second session before Scott Boland removed Josh Tongue for an 82-run victory to ensure the famous urn remains in Australian hands.&nbsp;The tourists needed a win to keep the five-match series alive after being crushed by eight wickets at Perth and Brisbane, with two more Tests still to play at Melbourne and Sydney.&nbsp;But despite showing more grit, they were again outplayed by an Australian team who suffered a setback with spin wizard Nathan Lyon hurting his hamstring and hobbling off.&nbsp;Chasing 435 was always going to be a huge challenge, with no side ever reeling in more than 418 to win in Test history, but England at least gave it a crack as they scored 352 all out.&nbsp;Their demise in just 11 days is the joint second quickest in more than a century since the 1921 series was completed in eight days, with their &quot;Bazball&quot; style of ultra-attacking cricket exposed.&nbsp;England&#39;s capitulation over three Tests is a far cry from the pre-Ashes hype where they were touted as having their best chance in a generation to win a series in Australia.&nbsp;And it made a mockery of former fast bowler Stuart Broad&#39;s claim that the hosts had their weakest side in 15 years, written off by others as a &quot;Dad&#39;s Army.&quot;&nbsp;The reality for Ben Stokes&#39;s men is that England have now gone 18 Tests since winning in Australia, dating back to their last series victory there in 2010-11.&nbsp;Their last three trips yielded one-sided scorelines of 5-0, 4-0 and 4-0, with more of the same on the cards unless there is a dramatic shift in their fortunes.&nbsp;&#39;Livin&#39; on a Prayer&#39;They resumed on 207-6 with Will Jacks on 11 and Jamie Smith two.&nbsp;Smith showed early intent by slog-sweeping Lyon over deep midwicket for six then banged another off Cameron Green as the Barmy Army fans broke into Bon Jovi&#39;s &quot;Livin&#39; on a Prayer.&quot;&nbsp;After four days of searing heat and sunshine, the lights were on with dark clouds looming and after 40 minutes the players went off as fine rain returned.&nbsp;It was a passing shower and they were back out 40 minutes later with lunch pushed back by half an hour.&nbsp;Lyon limped off soon after the restart after pulling a hamstring in sliding to save a boundary.&nbsp;He was sent for scans and ruled out of the rest of the Test, later seen on crutches with rest of the series for him in peril.&nbsp;When Mitchell Starc took the new ball, Smith began hitting out, crunching two fours in a row, and it proved his downfall when he skied to Pat Cummins at midwicket.&nbsp;Will Jacks produced his highest Test score of 47 and steered England&#39;s chase below 100.&nbsp;But he fell to another spectacular catch from Marnus Labuschange, diving to his left in front of wicketkeeper Alex Carey after an edge off Starc.&nbsp;Starc struck again to send Jofra Archer packing before Boland took out Tongue, sparking huge celebrations.&nbsp;England took six wickets before lunch on Saturday to wrap up Australia&#39;s second innings for 349 with Travis Head slamming 170.&nbsp;They then survived for two sessions, but the wheels came off courtesy of Lyon.&nbsp;He bowled Harry Brook and Ben Stokes before tempting Zak Crawley down the wicket to be stumped by Alex Carey for 85, with Cummins accounting for danger man Joe Root on 39.&nbsp;It was left to Smith and Jacks to ensure it would go to a fifth day.

England fall 82 runs short of 435-run target in Adelaide.

Australia beat England in third Test to retain Ashes

ADELAIDE: Defiant England coach Brendon McCullum brushed off concerns Sunday that his job was on the line heading into the third Test against Australia, while admitting the team has been &quot;nowhere near&quot; their best. The tourists were crushed in the first two Ashes Tests in Perth and Brisbane by eight wickets, and only a win at Adelaide Oval this week will be enough to keep the five-match series alive. McCullum confirmed they would stick with the same top seven, keeping under-fire Ollie Pope at number three rather than bringing in Jacob Bethell. &quot;Knee-jerk reactions and chopping and changing settled batting line-ups is not really our way,&quot; he said. &quot;We know we haven&#39;t got enough runs so far in the series. But for us to go on and win the series, it&#39;s not about throwing out what&#39;s been successful for us over the past few years.&quot; England&#39;s lack of fight and questionable preparations have drawn scrutiny, while McCullum&#39;s claim that they &quot;trained too much&quot; before Brisbane was met with disbelief by former greats.&nbsp;A decision for the team to lounge on the beach in tourist playground Noosa this week before heading to Adelaide was also planned.&nbsp;But McCullum was unfazed, dismissing talk that another defeat could threaten his job.&nbsp;&quot;I don&#39;t know, but it doesn&#39;t really bother me, to be honest,&quot; he said.&nbsp;&quot;I mean, professional sport, it&#39;s not easy, right? You do the job to the best of your ability. You have conviction in what you&#39;re doing, and whatever happens, happens.&quot;&nbsp;McCullum admitted England must improve to keep the series alive, but suggested they would not change their gung-ho approach.&nbsp;&quot;We knew when we came here that we had to win three Tests to win the series, and the fact we&#39;re 2-0 down has made it harder on ourselves, but it doesn&#39;t stop the belief that you have within the dressing room,&quot; he said.&nbsp;&quot;I don&#39;t think we&#39;ve been anywhere near our best so far in these last two Tests ... but what&#39;s been has been. Now, it&#39;s focusing on the one that&#39;s coming.&nbsp;&quot;I firmly believe that if we play our best cricket, we&#39;re a massive chance in this Test match. We do that, and the narrative changes in the series,&quot; he added.&nbsp;McCullum defended the decision to take a beach break rather than train after two heavy defeats.&nbsp;&quot;Noosa for us was excellent. It was planned, obviously a year ago,&quot; he said, adding that it was about spending &quot;time away from the heat of the battle&quot;.&nbsp;&quot;And I think now the freshness with which we come into this Test match will hopefully pay off.&nbsp;&quot;There&#39;s no guarantee, but that&#39;s the plan, and I think the boys are excited to get back to training and look forward to the next few days.&quot;

Confirms they would stick with the same top seven, keeping under-fire Ollie Pope at number three rather than bringing in Jacob Bethell.

McCullum admits England have been 'nowhere near' their best

BRISBANE: Australia cruised to an emphatic eight-wicket win over England in the day-night second Ashes Test in Brisbane on Sunday for an ominous 2-0 lead in the series.&nbsp;The hosts chased down the paltry target of 65 in just 10 overs, captain Steve Smith pulling Gus Atkinson for a huge six over square leg for the winning runs.&nbsp;Although not as humiliating as the two-day loss in the first Test in Perth, England were comprehensively outplayed in Brisbane in every department.&nbsp;Their batting, apart from Joe Root and Zak Crawley in the first innings and captain Ben Stokes and Will Jacks in the second, was just as rash as in Perth.&nbsp;They gave their wickets away with poor strokes on the bouncy Gabba surface.&nbsp;They also bowled poorly, pitching too short on the Gabba wicket and wasting the new pink ball, in stark contrast to an Australian attack missing spearheads Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood.&nbsp;To make matters worse England dropped five catches in the first innings, whereas Australia&#39;s fielders caught everything that came their way.&nbsp;Josh Inglis&#39;s brilliant run-out of Stokes in the first innings changed the course of the match.&nbsp;Australia now have a 2-0 lead in the five-Test series and are overwhelming favourites to retain the Ashes with matches in Adelaide, Melbourne and Sydney to follow.&nbsp;England were behind the game once they let Australia&#39;s tail help the home side post 511 on Saturday, an overall lead of 177.&nbsp;They then lost six second-innings wickets under lights to end the third day 134-6, still 43 runs behind the Australian total.&nbsp;While many expected England to surrender meekly on Sunday, Stokes and all-rounder Jacks led a fighting rearguard action to ensure Australia had to bat a second time.&nbsp;Stokes and Jacks defied the Australian pace attack on a fiercely hot day to edge their way past the initial deficit target and begin to set Australia something to chase.&nbsp;Flicker of resistanceEngland batting coach Marcus Trescothick said Saturday his batsmen would not change their aggressive approach, despite a clatter of wickets from poor shots.&nbsp;But Stokes and Jacks did the exact opposite during the first session Sunday.&nbsp;They left balls they didn&#39;t need to play and seemed happy to take their runs in singles rather than expansive boundary shots.&nbsp;They scored just 28 runs in the first hour and passed the 43-run deficit 96 minutes into the session, scoring only 59 runs in the two hours.&nbsp;The Australian bowlers, who ran rampant under lights on Saturday with the pink ball, were far more ineffective on Sunday, despite the wicket beginning to play some tricks.&nbsp;The English offered only one chance when Scott Boland squared up Stokes, who got a thick edge over the slips cordon.&nbsp;They continued to frustrate the Australians in the second session until just before the drinks break, Jacks got an edge to Michael Neser and Smith snared a breath-taking catch at slip, diving full length to his left and catching it low to the ground.&nbsp;Neser struck again in the next over when Stokes nibbled at a ball outside the off-stump and got a fine edge to keeper Alex Carey to leave England 227-8, a lead of exactly 50.&nbsp;Gus Atkinson, Brydon Carse and Jofra Archer offered no real resistance as Neser recorded career-best figures of 5-42 and Smith equalled Rahul Dravid on 210 outfield catches, three behind current record-holder Root.&nbsp;Sixty-five was never going to be enough and although Australia lost Travis Head and Marnus Labuschagne in the chase, Smith and Jake Weatherald guided the home side to an easy win in style.

Although not as humiliating as the two-day loss in the first Test in Perth, England were comprehensively outplayed in Brisbane in every department.

Australia crush England by eight wickets for 2-0 Ashes lead

ISLAMABAD: The Ashes Test in Perth has entered the record books as one of the shortest ever played, ending within two days and becoming the briefest Ashes contest on Australian soil in over a hundred years.&nbsp;The match lasted 847 balls, making it the third-shortest Ashes Test in history.&nbsp; The only Tests shorter than this were played during the 1888 Ashes series in England, 788 balls at Old Trafford and 792 balls at Lord&rsquo;s.&nbsp; The previous shortest Ashes Test in Australia was played in 1894-95 at the Sydney Cricket Ground, which lasted 911 balls.&nbsp;England struggled throughout the match, facing just 405 deliveries across two innings, their third-shortest combined effort in a Test where they were bowled out twice. Only the 1904 Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (325 balls) and the 1888 Lord&rsquo;s Test (388 balls) were shorter.&nbsp;Australia completed the chase in dramatic fashion, scoring at 7.23 runs per over, the highest run rate ever recorded in a successful chase of 200 or more in Test history. The hosts needed just 28.2 overs to overhaul the target of 205.&nbsp;The rapid finish, however, has had major financial consequences for Cricket Australia. The match did not extend to the third day, forcing the board to refund all tickets for Days 3 and 4.&nbsp;Initial estimates suggest a loss of at least AUD2 million, with some reports placing the total loss at up to AUD3 million. Broadcasters also suffered reduced revenue due to shorter telecast hours and fewer advertising slots.&nbsp;Cricket Australia CEO Todd Greenberg expressed concern over the financial impact, saying the early finish would affect broadcasters, commercial partners, and overall series revenue. The board was already under pressure after reporting an $11.3 million deficit last year.&nbsp;The abrupt end to the Perth Test has added to Cricket Australia&rsquo;s mounting financial challenges, with analysts warning of further strain on the domestic cricket market. <h2 id="isPasted" style="line-height: 2;">List of men&#39;s Test matches to finish in two days</h2>The Perth Test is one of the shortest Test matches in the world. Below is the list of Test matches that concluded within two days:<div class="fr-embed">&nbsp;<table class="cricket-table"><thead><tr><th>Date</th><th>Match Summary</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>Aug. 28, 1882</td><td>Australia 63 (Barlow 5-19) &amp; 122 (Massie 55) beat England 101 (Spofforth 7-46) &amp; 77 (Spofforth 7-44) by 7 runs</td></tr><tr><td>Jul. 16, 1888</td><td>Australia 116 (Peel 4-36) &amp; 60 (Peel 4-14) beat England 53 (Turner 5-27) &amp; 62 (Ferris 5-26) by 61 runs</td></tr><tr><td>Aug. 13, 1888</td><td>Australia 80 (Briggs 5-25) &amp; 100 (Barnes 5-32) lost to England 317 (Abel 70) by an innings and 137 runs</td></tr><tr><td>Aug. 30, 1888</td><td>England 172 (Turner 5-86) beat Australia 81 (Peel 7-31) &amp; 70 (Peel 4-37) by an innings and 21 runs</td></tr><tr><td>Mar. 12, 1889</td><td>South Africa 84 (Smith 5-19) &amp; 129 (Fothergill 4-19) lost to England 148 (Rose-Innes 5-43) &amp; 67-2 (Abel 23*) by 8 wickets</td></tr><tr><td>Mar. 25, 1889</td><td>England 292 (Abel 120) beat South Africa 47 (Briggs 7-17) &amp; 43 (Briggs 8-11) by an innings and 202 runs</td></tr><tr><td>Aug. 11, 1890</td><td>Australia 92 (Martin 6-50) &amp; 102 (Martin 6-52) lost to England 100 (Ferris 4-25) &amp; 95-8 (Read 35) by 2 wickets</td></tr><tr><td>Feb. 13, 1896</td><td>England 185 (Middleton 5-64) &amp; 226 (Woods 53) beat South Africa 93 (Lohmann 7-38) &amp; 30 (Lohmann 8-7) by 288 runs</td></tr><tr><td>Mar. 21, 1896</td><td>South Africa 115 (Lohmann 7-42) &amp; 117 (Hill 4-8) lost to England 265 (Hill 124) by an innings and 33 runs</td></tr><tr><td>May 27, 1912</td><td>Australia 448 (Bardsley 121) beat South Africa 265 (Faulkner 122*) &amp; 95 (Kelleway 5-33) by an innings and 88 runs</td></tr><tr><td>Aug. 12, 1912</td><td>South Africa 95 (Barnes 5-28) &amp; 93 (Barnes 8-29) lost to England 176 (Hobbs 68) &amp; 14-0 (Hobbs 9*) by 10 wickets</td></tr><tr><td>May 28, 1921</td><td>England 112 (Gregory 6-58) &amp; 147 (McDonald 5-32) lost to Australia 232 (Bardsley 66) &amp; 30-0 (Macartney 22*) by 10 wickets</td></tr><tr><td>Feb. 13, 1931</td><td>West Indies 99 (Ironmonger 7-23) &amp; 107 (Fairfax 4-31) lost to Australia 328-8d (Bradman 152) by an innings and 122 runs</td></tr><tr><td>Feb. 15, 1936</td><td>South Africa 157 (O&#39;Reilly 5-20) &amp; 98 (Grimmett 7-40) lost to Australia 439 (Fingleton 108) by an innings and 84 runs</td></tr><tr><td>Mar. 29, 1946</td><td>New Zealand 42 (O&#39;Reilly 5-14) &amp; 54 (O&#39;Reilly 3-19) lost to Australia 199-8d (Barnes 54) by an innings and 103 runs</td></tr><tr><td>Aug. 17, 2000</td><td>West Indies 172 (White 5-57) &amp; 61 (Caddick 5-14) lost to England 272 (Vaughan 76) by an innings and 39 runs</td></tr><tr><td>Oct. 11, 2002</td><td>Pakistan 59 (Warne 4-11) &amp; 53 (Warne 4-13) lost to Australia 310 (Hayden 119) by an innings and 198 runs</td></tr><tr><td>Mar. 4, 2005</td><td>Zimbabwe 54 (Kallis 4-13) &amp; 265 (Ebrahim 72) lost to South Africa 340-3d (Smith 121) by an innings and 21 runs</td></tr><tr><td>Aug. 7, 2005</td><td>New Zealand 452-9d (Vettori 127) beat Zimbabwe 59 (Franklin 3-11) &amp; 99 (Vettori 4-28) by an innings and 294 runs</td></tr><tr><td>Dec. 26, 2017</td><td>South Africa 309-9d (Markram 125) beat Zimbabwe 68 (Morkel 5-21) &amp; 121 (Maharaj 5-29) by an innings and 120 runs</td></tr><tr><td>Jun. 14, 2018</td><td>India 474 (Dhawan 107) beat Afghanistan 109 (Ashwin 4-27) &amp; 103 (Jadeja 4-17) by an innings and 262 runs</td></tr><tr><td>Feb. 24, 2021</td><td>England 112 (Patel 6-38) &amp; 81 (Patel 5-32) lost to India 145 (Root 5-8) &amp; 49-0 (Sharma 25*) by 10 wickets</td></tr><tr><td>Mar. 2, 2021</td><td>Afghanistan 131 (Muzarabani 4-48) &amp; 135 (Zadran 76) lost to Zimbabwe 250 (Williams 105) &amp; 17-0 (Kasuza 11*) by 10 wickets</td></tr><tr><td>Dec. 17, 2022</td><td>South Africa 152 (Verreynne 64) &amp; 99 (Cummins 5-42) lost to Australia 218 (Head 92) &amp; 35-4 (Rabada 4-13) by 6 wickets</td></tr><tr><td>Jan. 3, 2024</td><td>South Africa 55 (Siraj 6-15) &amp; 176 (Markram 106) lost to India 153 (Kohli 46) &amp; 80-3 (Jaiswal 28) by 7 wickets</td></tr><tr><td>Nov. 21, 2025</td><td>England 172 (Brook, Starc 7-58) &amp; 164 (Boland 4-33) lost to Australia 132 (Stokes 5-23) &amp; 205-2 (Head 123) by 8 wickets</td></tr></tbody></table></div> Stats: Wisden Cricket

The match lasted only 847 balls, making it the third-shortest Ashes Test in history.

Perth Test becomes shortest Ashes match on Australian soil in more than 100 years

PERTH: Makeshift opener Travis Head smacked an explosive 69-ball century to power Australia to victory in a high-octane first Ashes Test on Saturday as England meekly surrendered in the Perth Stadium cauldron. Chasing 205 to win, Head slammed 123 as the hosts romped home on day two by eight wickets in an electric start to the five-match series. Marnus Labuschagne was not-out 51 and Steve Smith on two. &quot;Wow, what a couple of days. It&#39;s been unbelievable,&quot; said Head. &quot;The emotions are pretty high. &quot;They (England) were seriously good out there yesterday and started to drag it back, so we knew we couldn&#39;t afford to let the game slip. To be able to contribute the way I did, it feels pretty special.&quot; Head&#39;s heroics came on the back of a blistering spell from marauding pace pair Scott Boland and Mitchell Starc after lunch that sparked a stunning England collapse. The tourists were cruising at 65-1 and building an ominous second-innings lead, but Boland and Starc left them reeling with four wickets in as many overs. A ruthless Boland accounted for Ben Duckett (28), Ollie Pope (33) and Harry Brook (0) in the space of 11 balls, then two deliveries later Starc sent Joe Root packing for eight. When Starc removed skipper Ben Stokes (2), England were flailing at 88-6 and the veteran paceman had bagged a 10-wicket haul for only the third time after his first innings 7-58, a career-best. England were partially rescued by a crucial 50-run stand between Gus Atkinson (37) and Brydon Carse (20) before being rolled for 164 at tea. &quot;Little bit shell-shocked there,&quot; said Stokes. &quot;Travis Head was phenomenal, jeez that was some knock. &quot;We tried 3-4 different plans there, he was going like a train. The runs were coming through quickly, he is really hard to stop when he plays like that.&quot; When they returned, Usman Khawaja again failed to show as opener as he battles back stiffness, with Australia signaling their intent by sending in Head. Head, who has opened nine times previously in Test cricket, quickly got into his destructive rhythm, crunching some lovely boundaries including big sixes off Carse and Mark Wood. He made it look easy, making a mockery of the struggles other batsmen had on the bouncy track, bringing up his half-century in 36 balls, passing 4,000 Test runs in the process. Looking to emulate him, debutant Jake Weatherald also went on the attack, but it cost him, out for 23 after a mistimed pull shot was taken by Ben Duckett off Carse. An unruffled Head kept the pressure on, slamming four boundaries in one Stokes over and sending a six back over the head of Jofra Archer on his way to a 10th Test ton. He eventually fell to Carse going for another big hit. Starc starsAustralia resumed on a paltry 123-9 in their first innings and added just nine before Nathan Lyon was removed by Carse for four to leave England with a 40-run advantage. Stokes was the star of the show, claiming 5-23 off just 36 balls to give England a golden opportunity to win a Test in Australia for the first time since the 2010-11 series. They had been all out for 172 at the hands of Starc on day one. Australia were banking on the 35-year-old to emulate his exploits in the second innings and he whipped the sold-out Perth Stadium crowd into a frenzy when he removed Zak Crawley in his first over. The veteran consigned Crawley to a pair, diving to his left in an incredible feat of athleticism for a memorable caught-and-bowled. Duckett and Pope settled in, safely reaching lunch at 59-1. But Scott Boland began to find his radar when they returned. Duckett edged to Steve Smith in the slips then Pope did the same to wicketkeeper Alex Carey before Brook repeated the feat to Khawaja. After a first innings duck Joe Root was desperate for runs, but he was no match for the relentless Starc, dragging a thick edge onto his stumps to cap a miserable start to the series. Brendan Doggett then cleaned up Jamie Smith, (15), Carse and Archer (5).

Head's 69-ball ton powers Australia to victory in Ashes opener

SYDNEY: Pat Cummins has conceded he&#39;s a doubtful starter for Australia&#39;s Ashes series opener against England in Perth next month.&nbsp;&ldquo;I wouldn&rsquo;t put a percentage on it, but I&rsquo;d say probably less likely than likely,&rdquo; the pace bowler told domestic media Monday. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve still got a bit of time.&rdquo;&nbsp;The Australia captain has been sidelined for three months with a back stress injury, and speculation has mounted in recent weeks that he&#39;d miss at least the first test, and likely more, of the biggest test cricket series on the 2025 calendar.&nbsp;Cummins said he&#39;s back into physical training and &quot;each session feels better and better.&rdquo;&nbsp;&ldquo;We get into slight bowling prep, I think next week,&quot; he said. &quot;I&rsquo;m probably a couple of weeks away before I actually put on these spikes and bowl on the turf.&quot;&nbsp;The five-test series starts Nov. 21 in Perth, followed by a day-night test in Brisbane from Dec. 4, before the series moves to Adelaide, Melbourne and Sydney.&nbsp;The 32-year-old Cummins has not bowled since Australia&#39;s 3-0 series sweep of the West Indies in the Caribbean in July.&nbsp;&ldquo;The immediate goal is to make sure I&rsquo;m giving myself a chance to be right for as much of (the series) as possible,&rdquo; Cummins said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s really too early to kind of make some big decisions.&nbsp;&ldquo;With these things, it&rsquo;s pretty hard to go from not bowling or anything at all to suddenly playing five tests. The first step is trying to give us a shot at being (fit), and then we&rsquo;ll work it out a bit closer.&rdquo;&nbsp;Cummins said he wasn&#39;t in serious pain and was trying to increase his workload.&nbsp;&ldquo;A few of the symptoms hung around for a little bit longer than I would have liked,&quot; he said, &ldquo;but they&rsquo;re all gone now.&rdquo;&nbsp;If Cummins is ruled out, Scott Boland is likely to take his place in the pace attack that should include Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood.&nbsp;Australia&#39;s white ball squad is preparing for a series of one-day and Twenty20 internationals against India starting Oct. 19.

Cummins says he's back into physical training and "each session feels better and better.”

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