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The Australian chief selector George Bailey has confirmed that pace spearhead Cummins will be a central figure in the forthcoming England-Australia contest.

Rumors had circulated that Cummins might be unavailable due to a stress fracture in his back that was still troubling him.

Earlier indications from the squad suggested no official announcement had been made regarding Cummins' participation, with the Test matches set to start on 21 November in Perth.

Bailey expressed that Cummins is "building up" and felt positive about his chances of participating.

"We know that the clock is ticking and various factors at play, aside from his injury, but other factors as well," he commented.

"The outlook is good. There's strong faith that he'll participate in a key capacity. Hopefully starting in Perth. Otherwise, then we'll pick it up."

Past Concerns

He was sidelined the ODI and T20 games against New Zealand and India in the previous weeks after examinations confirmed a lower back issue.

There is a track record of back injuries, with recurrences in multiple past seasons leading to absences from several home seasons in a limited period.

The bowler mentioned he would be bold in recovery efforts in his rehabilitation process to make the squad for the contest.

Bailey noted that it was unclear if the captain had resumed bowling as part of his comeback but conceded it was "pressing" for him to recover fully for the first Test.

Contingency Plans

If he's unavailable, former captain Steve Smith will take over the captaincy.

The talented all-rounder was recently pulled out from the national team for their one-day international series against the Asian giants as a precautionary measure because of discomfort in his torso.

He labeled it as a "small issue and mentioned that he's scheduled to appear in the Sheffield Shield, so will be "ideally positioned to deliver overs."

"We put so much time has gone into developing the strategy for him to be available for the initial game as an dual-role player," the selector detailed.

"His involvement was limited to the initial matches in any case. His aggressive style the cricket bat in white-ball cricket, should it hinder progress for another day, we opted to approach this more conservatively."

Match Calendar

The Ashes: Australia v England

Spanning from late 2025 to early 2026