Khawaja out of Gabba Test; England make one change

Australia will be without opener Usman Khawaja in the second Ashes Test at the Gabba, starting on December 4. Khawaja has been ruled out due to a back injury suffered during the series opener in Perth. Australia has not named a replacement, putting Josh Inglis and Beau Webster in line to return to the XI.

Khawaja had a brief nets session on Tuesday and appeared in discomfort, indicating he hasn't fully recovered. It remains unclear who will open in his place—Marnus Labuschagne opened in the first innings of the Perth Test, while Travis Head did so in the second.

Following his heroics in the fourth-innings chase in Perth, Head has indicated he'd be happy to open. Inglis, who hit a century against England Lions last week, is also an option. Selecting Inglis would allow Australia to retain Head in the middle-order. If Webster is chosen instead, Head is likely to move up the order. Webster debuted for Australia last year in the home series against India, playing at No.6.

Mark Wood out, Will Jacks in

England have made one change to their XI, with spin-bowling all-rounder Will Jacks replacing the injured Mark Wood. Jacks, who bowled extensively in training ahead of the second Test, gets the nod ahead of frontline spinner Shoaib Bashir.

Jacks made his Test debut in 2022 against Pakistan in Rawalpindi, taking a six-wicket haul in the first innings. He played only one more Test after that—in Multan during the same series.

England XI: Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes (c), Jamie Smith (wk), Will Jacks, Gus Atkinson, Brydon Carse, Jofra Archer