Steve Smith will lead the side in the absence of Cummins, while all-rounders Michael Neser and Beau Webster and back-up quick Brendan Doggett retain their place in the squad despite missing out on selection in the recent Adelaide Test that saw Australia register a 82-run triumph that helped them open up an unassailable 3-0 lead in the Ashes series.
Cummins misses out on the Melbourne Test having only recently returned from his back issue, with Australia coach Andrew McDonald confirming the skipper would miss the remainder of the Ashes series.
“He won’t play any part in the rest of the series,” McDonald said on Tuesday.
“That was a discussion that we had a long time out around his return. Yeah, we were taking on some risk. We’ve now won the series, and that was the goal.
“To position him for further risk and jeopardise him long-term is not something that we want to do.
“Pat’s really comfortable with that. If he had any setback in the build-in as well, we would have shut him down straight away.
“Everything went really smoothly, and full credit to him, the medical team and to navigate through that risk profile, to get him back and take six wickets in that game and nail the Ashes series was incredibly pleasing for everyone associated with that.”