Pat Cummins has claimed over 300 dismissals in 71 appearances with an stellar bowling average.
The Australian chief selector Bailey has stated that captain Pat Cummins will have a crucial role in this winter's England-Australia contest.
Speculation had been growing that the 32-year-old might miss the series due to a persistent back stress problem that was still troubling him.
Previous updates from the squad suggested no official announcement had been made regarding Cummins' participation, with the five-Test series scheduled to begin on November 21 in the WACA.
Bailey expressed that Cummins is "building up" and felt positive about the prospects of participating.
"It's clear that time is getting short and there are permutations at play, not just his injury, but further aspects," Bailey remarked.
"It's positive. We firmly believe that he will feature a key capacity. Ideally from the opening match. Should that not happen, we'll adjust."
Previous Setbacks
Cummins was ruled out the ODI and T20 games against New Zealand and India recently after scans revealed a lumbar bone stress.
There is a track record of recurring issues, with recurrences in several earlier campaigns causing him to miss three Australian summers in a limited period.
He emphasized he would be proactive in his approach in his recovery plan to make the squad for the series.
The selector indicated that he did not know if Cummins had begun bowling as part of his rehabilitation but conceded it was "pressing" for him to recover fully for the initial match.
Alternative Arrangements
If he's unavailable, ex-skipper Smith will assume leadership.
The talented all-rounder was excluded lately from the ODI lineup for their ODI contests against the Asian giants as a preventive step because of soreness in his side.
The selector characterized it as a "slight concern and confirmed that Green will play in the domestic first-class competition, so will be "ideally positioned to resume bowling."
"We put so much time has gone into building out the plan for him to take part for the opening match as an dual-role player," the selector detailed.
"His involvement was limited to the initial matches anyway. His aggressive style the bat in limited-overs, should it hinder progress for 24 more hours, we just made the decision to adopt a safer strategy."
Match Calendar
The Ashes: Australia v England
21 November 2025 - 7 January 2026
