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The Australian chief selector the selector has declared that pace spearhead Cummins will play a "major part" in the forthcoming England-Australia contest.

Rumors had circulated that the 32-year-old might sit out due to a stress fracture in his back that was still troubling him.

Previous updates from the squad suggested no definitive call had been made regarding his involvement, with the Test matches set to start on 21 November in the WACA.

The selector shared that Cummins is "building up" and remained hopeful about the likelihood of participating.

"We know that the clock is ticking and multiple considerations around that, aside from the physical problem, but other factors as well," Bailey remarked.

"It's positive. [We are] really confident that he'll participate in a major part. Hopefully from the opening match. Should that not happen, we'll adjust."

Previous Setbacks

The captain missed the ODI and T20 games against New Zealand and India recently after scans revealed a stress reaction in his back.

Previous incidents include of spinal problems, with recurrences in several earlier campaigns causing him to miss three Australian summers in four years.

He emphasized he would be ""aggressive" and "take risks" in his rehabilitation process to secure his spot for the series.

He mentioned that he did not know if he had started his bowling workouts as part of his recovery but admitted it was "becoming urgent" for him to recover fully for the opener.

Alternative Arrangements

If he's unavailable, veteran batsman Smith will lead the side.

Versatile player Green was recently pulled out from Australia's squad for their one-day international series against the Asian giants as a preventive step because of discomfort in his torso.

Bailey described it as a "small issue and confirmed that he'll feature in the domestic first-class competition, so will be "in a good place to be ready to bowl."

"We put so much time has gone into creating the schedule for him to participate for the opening match as an dual-role player," he elaborated.

"Originally, he'd only feature in the first two ODIs anyway. How he handles the bat in limited-overs, should it hinder progress for another day, we just made the decision to adopt a safer strategy."

Match Calendar

The Ashes: Australia v England

Spanning from late 2025 to early 2026