Australia will field an all-out pace attack for the second Ashes Test after dropping Nathan Lyon, but it won’t be Pat Cummins taking his place.

The home side has resisted an early recall for Cummins, instead bringing in pink ball specialist Michael Neser for just his third Test and his first since 2022.

Neser has only ever played in pink-ball Tests both coming in Adelaide, taking seven wickets at an average of 16.71 and is no stranger to the Gabba, having climbed the ranks through Queensland.

Despite being left out of the squad, Cummins still travelled to Brisbane with captain Steve Smith saying he was “close” to a return after bowling strongly both in Perth and at the Gabba nets.

“Pat was close. He’s done everything right. We thought it might have been a little bit risky for this game, but he’s tracking well for the next one,” Smith said.

“Michael Neser is in for Nathan Lyon. Pink ball, we think it’s going to offer quite a bit, particularly later on under lights with no daylight savings here we play in the night a lot and thought that was going to be the best attack to take 20 wickets in this fixture.”

It means Lyon will miss his second pink ball Test in a row after missing out on the third Test in Jamaica, which saw Australia blow away West Indies for 27 in the second innings.

It’s a bold selection call given Lyon’s strong record in pink-ball Tests with 43 wickets at 25.62, with only Mitchell Starc bowling more overs in day-night Tests than Lyon.

It will be just the second Test Lyon has missed in Australia in the last 15 years.

Channel Seven commentator and former Australian captain Ricky Ponting said it was a massive call.

“It looks like they might have made the really tough call to leave Nathan Lyon out of this Test Match,” he said.

“He did only bowl those two overs in Perth. This is Michael Neser’s home ground and he knows the conditions really, really well.

“But for someone like Nathan Lyon who is such a seasoned professional with a good record at the Gabba, I think it’s a massive call for the Aussies to make.”

England brought in off-spinner Will Jacks for the injured Mark Wood despite having pace bowlers Josh Tongue and Matthew Potts in reserve.

Australia also confirmed WA wicketkeeper Josh Inglis will slot into the middle order with Travis Head taking over from Usman Khawaja.

It will be his first Test on home soil, having scored a hundred on debut in Sri Lanka before sfilling in for an injured Steve Smith in the West Indies.

AUSTRALIA’S SECOND TEST XI

Travis Head, Jake Weatherald, Marnus Labuschagne, Steve Smith, Josh Inglis, Cam Green, Alex Carey, Michael Neser, Mitchell Starc, Scott Boland, Brendan Doggett

ENGLAND LINE-UP Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes, Jamie Smith, Will Jacks, Gus Atkinson, Brydon Carse, Jofra Archer