The fast bowler's beguiling mix of aggression, control and intellect may make him the most feared of the Australian pace trio with the Dukes ball in hand.
A temporary ceasefire was called on Wednesday as Australia captain Steve Smith and his England counterpart Joe Root paused for photos under a blinding blue sky at the Brisbane stadium, but both captains have been looking to land a psychological blow on the eve of the first Test.
Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Ibrahim Zadran shared an opening stand of 118 to drive Afghanistan to a stunning 21-run win over Australia.
Australia suffered a big setback after senior fast bowler Josh Hazlewood was ruled out of the World Test Championship final against India.
Khawaja passed a fitness Test on Monday after recovering from a hamstring injury and Langer confirmed the left-hander will bat at number three, while fast bowler Pattinson is set to feature in his first Test match since Feb. 2016.
Usman Khawaja will replace Travis Head in Australia's middle order for this week's fourth Ashes Test against England in the only change to the side that wrapped up the series in Melbourne last week.
Batsman David Warner has been dropped from Australia's one-day international squad while paceman Mitchell Starc will fly back home because of lower back soreness, the country's cricket board said on Sunday.
Australia coach Darren Lehmann hopes the ongoing pay dispute will not prompt the players to boycott this year's Ashes series and urged both sides to resolve the matter.
Pakistan look to be positive against strong Australia team
Since an acrimonious series defeat at home to South Africa a year ago, Australia have won nine of their past 13 Tests.
Erskine hit back at Johnson, stating that his questioning Warner's selection isn't logical.
Travis Head likes the way England skipper Ben Stokes and Head coach Brendon McCullum are leading the English Test team.
Opener David Warner and all-rounder Mitch Marsh will be rested for the five-match Twenty20 International series against Sri Lanka next month to prepare for the upcoming tour of Pakistan.
Tactician par excellence Gautam Gambhir couldn't have envisaged a battle of brains with a more different kind of adversary than the smiling yet ruthless Pat Cummins as Kolkata Knight Riders face a spirited Sunrisers Hyderabad in a mega IPL final in Chennai on Sunday.
Former wicketkeeper Ian Healy predicted a 2-1 win for India in the four-Test series against Australia, starting in Nagpur on February 9, provided the hosts don't prepare "unreasonable wickets".
Cummins's career haul is particularly noteworthy for a player who started his Test career aged 18, but spent more than five years out of the team due to a succession of injuries.
Mitchell Marsh won the prestigious Allan Border Medal at the 2024 Australian Cricket Awards
Border scored 11,174 runs in 156 Tests at an average of 50.56, with 27 centuries and 63 fifties in the format, and a of 205.
The truth of the matter is that India lost their second successive WTC final on day two of this encounter when they collapsed to 71/4 in response to Australia's first-innings total of 469.
Australia will start as favourites to reclaim the Ashes over the next seven weeks if only because of their home advantage but picking the winners in cricket's oldest Test rivalry has become a fool's game in recent years
The former England captain has urged pitch curators against preparing flat decks
Spinner Nathan Lyon believes Australia have enough time to chase the 412 victory target and win the first Ashes Test against England at Cardiff
Pat Cummins took 10 wickets to lead Australia to Pakistan series triumph
England crumbled meekly to 107 for eight in reply to Australia's 481 to put the touring side firmly on course for victory in the final Ashes Test after a dramatic second day at The Oval on Friday.
Mitchell Marsh said on Tuesday he will gladly captain Australia for as long as required as the all-rounder prepares to lead the Twenty20 and one-day sides on a tour of South Africa.
'All the talking stops very quickly and the series becomes a normal series after the first two hours'
Australia moved within six wickets of reclaiming the Ashes at the close of a rain-hit day four of the third Ashes Test on Sunday, with England still 127 runs short of making the hosts bat again.
Smith stood down from his post as captain and was banned for one Test match by the International Cricket Council (ICC) on Sunday after admitting conspiring to tamper with the ball during the third Test against South Africa in Cape Town.
Ian Bell guided England to an eight-wicket victory over Australia in the third test at Edgbaston on Friday to put the hosts 2-1 up in the series with two matches to play.
The batsman's unbeaten 110 at the WACA cauldron anchored a 174-run stand with wicketkeeper Jonny Bairstow (75 not out) to push England to 305 for four at stumps as the tourists emerged on top after an intriguing opening day.
Australia fast bowler James Pattinson is recovering from his back injury ahead of schedule and is targeting the third Test in Perth in a boost for the hosts' hopes of wresting the Ashes back from England.
Australia recalled wicketkeeper Tim Paine for the first time in seven years in a selection bombshell while dropping opening batsman Matt Renshaw in a surprising Ashes squad for the series against England.
Australia, with Steve Smith back in their line-up, will retain the Ashes with victory in the fourth Test, while a win for England would set up a decider at the Oval next week.
Australia have barely put a foot wrong in the five-match series and will head to the MCG confident of pushing England toward a second successive whitewash on home soil.
With a massive 1,608 runs in the WTC 2021-2023 cycle, Khawaja was the major reason Australia qualified for the WTC final.
The selection of opener Cameron Bancroft, wicketkeeper Tim Paine and number six Shaun Marsh all looked to have backfired early in the series-opener but all three finished strongly in Brisbane to help Australia to victory and boost their confidence ahead of the second test in Adelaide starting on Saturday.
Australia's pace bowling unit will give the tourists every chance of success in the Ashes series in England but will not be able to win back the precious urn without some help from the batsmen, captain Michael Clarke said on Wednesday.
England paceman James Anderson raised concerns about potentially 'dangerous' short-pitched bowling at the tourists' tail-enders during the first Ashes Test, but his captain Joe Root said the lower order would just need to learn to 'deal with it'.
'It was really good fun out there, I absolutely loved every single minute of it.'
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