Pat returns to lead as Australia announce eleven for 1st test

BRISBANE [AUSTRALIA]: Australia announced its starting lineup for the first Test against South Africa in Brisbane, which also sees the return of captain Pat Cummins. The news that Cummins will be able to participate in the match, which gets underway on Saturday in Brisbane, after having recovered from a quad injury is encouraging for the home team.

Cummins shared the news as he announced the rest of the starting lineup the day before the match. He takes over from Steve Smith, who in Cummins' absence captained the team in the second Test against the West Indies.

Usman Khawaja and David Warner start the innings, followed by ICC Men's Test number one batter Marnus Labuschagne and number two batter Steve Smith as per ICC. While wicketkeeper Alex Carey keeps his position, Travis Head and Cameron Green are positioned at Nos. 5 and 6, respectively.

Though the tourists have history against them, having gone winless in four attempts in the longest format, early assessments of the Brisbane ground this week suggest that both world-class pace attacks should like the conditions.

The World Test Championship, which includes the Test series, is led by Australia (75 per cent of potential points) while South Africa is placed second (60 per cent of possible points) in the table.

Australia squad: Pat Cummins (c), Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Cameron Green, Marcus Harris, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Lance Morris, Nathan Lyon, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, David Warner

South Africa squad: Dean Elgar (c), Temba Bavuma, Gerald Coetzee, Theunis de Bruyn, Sarel Erwee, Simon Harmer, Marco Jansen, Keshav Maharaj, Heinrich Klaasen, Lungi Ngidi, Anrich Nortje, Kagiso Rabada, Rassie van der Dussen, Kyle Verreynne, Lizaad Williams and Khaya Zondo.