Steve Smith is back. Smudge will be seen tossing the coin, as Australia’s skipper, for the first time since the sandpaper gate in 2018, when the side faces England in the second Ashes Test, starting Thursday. The announcement was made by Cricket Australia as Pat Cummins was ruled out of the Adelaide Test after being deemed a close contact of a person who returned a positive COVID-19 test.

“Steve Smith will captain the side in Cummins’ absence. Michael Neser comes into the playing XI to make his Test debut and Travis Head will be vice-captain,” Cricket Australia said in a release on Thursday. 

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Smith was sacked following a ball-tampering scandal in 2018. During the third Test vs South Africa in Cape Town, the TV camera caught Australian opener Cameron Bancroft using sandpaper to rough up the ball. Both the players, vice-captain David Warner and head coach Darren Lehmann were banned for a year. Tim Paine was made the new Test captain.

Smith was named in Australia’s World Cup squad in 2019. He finished the tournament with 379 runs at an average of 37.90, including four fifties. 

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He then rocked the Ashes with 774 runs at an average of 110.57, by far the most on either side. The 32-year-old scored three centuries and as many fifties. Smith was awarded his second consecutive Compton–Miller Medal as the man of the series.

Cummins was a close contact and will be required to isolate for seven days. It said Cummins should be available for the third test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground starting December 26.

“Cummins is understandably very disappointed not to be able to captain Australia,” the statement said.

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Cricket Australia said fellow Australia bowlers Mitchell Starc and Nathan Lyon were dining at the same restaurant as Cummins but at a separate table outdoors. SA Health said they casual contacts and they are free to play.

Cummins’ absence along with that of injured Josh Hazlewood is a big blow to Australia after Hazlewood, the world’s top-ranked test bowler, claimed a five-wicket haul in Australia’s series-opening nine-wicket win at the Gabba in Brisbane.

Adelaide has had a rise in COVID-19 cases over the past week, with the 25 reported on Wednesday the most in a single day in more than 18 months.

With inputs from the Associated Press