Smith hits hundred ahead of Ashes as Cummins returns to bowling

Australia have been handed a couple of Ashes boots with Steve Smith hitting a hundred in the Sheffield Shield and captain Pat Cummins returning to bowling in the nets.

Smith - who will deputise for Cummins (back) as Australia skipper for the first Test against England in Perth from November 21 - scored 118 from 176 balls for New South Wales against Queensland.

Smith's knock in Brisbane, his first in red-ball cricket since the tour of West Indies in June and July, included 20 fours and a six and came against a Queensland side featuring likely Ashes team-mate Marnus Labuschagne.

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Labuschagne, whose side are yet to bat in this game, seems poised for a Test recall, either as an opener or in his preferred No 3 spot, after hitting four hundreds in six innings for Queensland this season across red and white-ball cricket.

It was announced earlier this week that pace bowler Cummins will sit out the Ashes opener at Optus Stadium having failed to recover sufficiently from the lumbar stress issue he was diagnosed with in September.

Australia head coach Andrew McDonald is hopeful the 32-year-old will be fit for the day-night second Test in Brisbane from December 4, and so the seamer going through his paces at New South Wales' training base - albeit off a short run - was a welcome sight.

Smith has stood in for Cummins six times since 2021, winning five Tests and drawing one, but it is his batting that England will be most concerned about.

The 36-year-old averages 56.01 in Ashes cricket, with 12 hundreds, 13 fifties and 3,417 runs in total across 37 Tests against England.

Smith did not manage a hundred when England last visited Australia in 2021/22, recording a best of 93 in Adelaide, but he scored 110 at Lord's and two half-centuries at The Kia Oval during the 2-2 series draw away from home in 2023.

Ashes series in Australia 2025-26

All times UK and Ireland

• First Test: Friday November 21 - Tuesday November 25 (2.30am) - Optus Stadium, Perth
• Second Test (day/night): Thursday December 4 - Monday December 8 (4.30am) - The Gabba, Brisbane
• Third Test: Wednesday December 17 - Sunday December 21 (12am) - Adelaide Oval
• Fourth Test: Thursday December 25 - Monday December 29 (11.30pm) - Melbourne Cricket Ground
• Fifth Test: Sunday January 4 - Thursday January 8 (11.30pm) - Sydney Cricket Ground