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The Australian selection chief George Bailey has declared that skipper Cummins will be a central figure in the forthcoming Ashes series.

Speculation had been growing that the 32-year-old might be unavailable due to a stress fracture in his back that had not yet healed.

Earlier indications from the Australian camp suggested no official announcement had been made regarding whether he would play, with the extended contest set to start on 21 November in Perth.

The selector shared that his recovery is on track and remained hopeful about his chances of taking part.

"We know that the window is narrowing and multiple considerations involved, aside from the physical problem, but further aspects," Bailey remarked.

"We're encouraged. [We are] really confident that he's going to play a key capacity. Hopefully it's the first Test. Should that not happen, we'll reassess."

Past Concerns

Cummins was ruled out the white-ball matches against New Zealand and India recently after examinations confirmed a stress reaction in his back.

He has a history of back injuries, with setbacks in 2012-13, 2013-14 and 2015-16 leading to absences from three Australian summers in four years.

Cummins stated he would be proactive in his approach in his rehabilitation process to make the squad for the series.

He mentioned that there was no confirmation if he had started his bowling workouts as part of his rehabilitation but acknowledged it was "getting tight" for him to be fit for the first Test.

Alternative Arrangements

If he's unavailable, ex-skipper Smith will take over the captaincy.

All-rounder Cameron Green was excluded lately from Australia's squad for their one-day international series against the Asian giants as a preventive step because of soreness in his side.

Bailey described it as a "slight concern and confirmed that Green will play in the Sheffield Shield, so will be "ideally positioned to resume bowling."

"Considerable effort has gone into developing the strategy for him to participate for the first Test as an batting and bowling option," he elaborated.

"He was only going to play the starting games anyway. How he handles the bat in limited-overs, even if it just sets him back for another day, we just made the decision to adopt a safer strategy."

Series Schedule

The Ashes: Australia v England

Spanning from late 2025 to early 2026