Pat Cummins will play in the first Test against South Africa having confirmed his XI for the game starting on Saturday at the Gabba.
Cummins returns from a groin injury, while Scott Boland has been preferred to Michael Neser in the XI, after both played in the second Test win over the West Indies last week.
Fellow fast bowler Josh Hazlewood was already ruled out with a side strain. Australia’s batting line-up remains unchanged.
Cummins discussed the conditions at the Gabba, which may be bowler friendly against a Proteas side that looks to have a strong attack with Kagiso Rabada and Anrich Nortje among their quicks.
“A couple of the boys said it’s similar to what they’ve seen here in the past,” Cummins told reporters on Friday.
“It looks like there’s a bit of grass, so we’ll see how it looks tomorrow.
“They’ll give it a final cut. It always looks pretty green here a couple of days out, then on the morning of day one it looks a bit different.”
South Africa also possess all-rounder Marco Jansen and quick Lungi Ngidi, along with left-arm spinner Keshav Maharaj.
“It looks like they’ve got a pretty well-rounded attack,” Cummins said. “Whether they play four or five bowlers, they’ve got a good spinner, a left-armer- they’re going to be a challenge.
“You’ve seen the guys working super hard in the nets. (Jansen) is just that point of difference. I’ve never faced him, I think a few of the guys have faced him in T20 cricket. It just presents a different challenge.
“He’s tall, left-arm. Visually they look a bit different as well. we’ve certainly been thinking about that this week.”
