Pat Cummins has secured 309 wickets in 71 appearances with an impressive average.
The Australian chief selector Bailey has declared that captain Pat Cummins will play a "major part" in the forthcoming England-Australia contest.
Speculation had been growing that the veteran bowler might miss the series due to a persistent back stress problem that had not yet healed.
Previous updates from the Australian camp suggested no final decision had been made regarding whether he would play, with the five-Test series scheduled to begin on the 21st of November in Perth.
The selector shared that Cummins is "building up" and felt positive about the prospects of taking part.
"We know that time is getting short and there are permutations involved, not just the back issue, but other factors as well," the selector added.
"We're encouraged. [We are] really confident that he will feature a significant role. With luck from the opening match. If not, we'll reassess."
Injury History
He was sidelined the ODI and T20 games against India and New Zealand last month after examinations confirmed a lumbar bone stress.
Previous incidents include of recurring issues, with flare-ups in 2012-13, 2013-14 and 2015-16 leading to absences from multiple domestic campaigns in a limited period.
Cummins stated he would be bold in recovery efforts in his rehabilitation process to make the squad for the series.
The selector indicated that he did not know if he had started his bowling workouts as part of his rehabilitation but acknowledged it was "pressing" for him to regain fitness for the first Test.
Backup Options
In case of absence, veteran batsman Smith will take over the captaincy.
The talented all-rounder was recently pulled out from Australia's squad for their limited-overs matches against the Asian giants as a preventive step because of an abdominal issue.
He labeled it as a "small issue and mentioned that he'll feature in the domestic first-class competition, so will be "well-prepared to resume bowling."
"We put so much time has gone into creating the schedule for him to be available for the opening match as an dual-role player," the selector detailed.
"He was only going to play the initial matches in any case. How he handles the bat in limited-overs, even if it just sets him back for 24 more hours, we opted to adopt a safer strategy."
Match Calendar
The Ashes: Australia v England
Spanning from late 2025 to early 2026
