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Australia's chief selector George Bailey has stated that skipper Cummins will be a central figure in this winter's England-Australia contest.

Rumors had circulated that Cummins might be unavailable due to a ongoing back issue that remained unresolved.

Previous updates from team management suggested no final decision had been made regarding Cummins' participation, with the extended contest set to start on the 21st of November in Western Australia.

He revealed that his recovery is on track and felt positive about the likelihood of participating.

"We know that the window is narrowing and there are permutations around that, not only the back issue, but additional elements," Bailey remarked.

"It's positive. We firmly believe that he'll participate in a key capacity. With luck it's the first Test. Should that not happen, we'll adjust."

Previous Setbacks

He was sidelined the ODI and T20 games against India and New Zealand in the previous weeks after scans revealed a lumbar bone stress.

He has a history of spinal problems, with setbacks in multiple past seasons causing him to miss three Australian summers in a short span.

Cummins stated he would be bold in recovery efforts in his recovery plan to ensure his availability for the Ashes.

Bailey noted that it was unclear if Cummins had begun bowling as part of his recovery 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.

Versatile player Green was withdrawn recently from the ODI lineup for their one-day international series against the subcontinent side as a preventive step because of an abdominal issue.

He labeled it as a "small issue and mentioned that he'll feature in the Sheffield Shield, so will be "ideally positioned to resume bowling."

"Extensive planning has gone into building out the plan for him to participate for the initial game as an batting and bowling option," Bailey explained.

"His involvement was limited to the first two ODIs in any case. How he handles the cricket bat in white-ball cricket, if it causes any delay for 24 more hours, the choice was made to adopt a safer strategy."

Series Schedule

The Ashes: Australia v England

Spanning from late 2025 to early 2026