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Australia's chair of selectors George Bailey has confirmed that captain Pat Cummins will be a central figure in the upcoming England-Australia contest.

There were concerns that Cummins might be unavailable due to a stress fracture in his back that remained unresolved.

Earlier indications from team management suggested no final decision had been made regarding his involvement, with the Test matches set to start on November 21 in Western Australia.

Bailey expressed that Cummins is "building up" and remained hopeful about the prospects of being involved.

"It's clear that time is getting short and various factors involved, not only his injury, but additional elements," the selector added.

"We're encouraged. [We are] really confident that he'll participate in a major part. Ideally starting in Perth. If not, then we'll pick it up."

Previous Setbacks

Cummins was ruled out Australia's limited-overs series against India and New Zealand recently after medical tests showed a lumbar bone stress.

He has a history of recurring issues, with recurrences in 2012-13, 2013-14 and 2015-16 causing him to miss several home seasons in a limited period.

Cummins stated he would be proactive in his approach in his recovery plan to secure his spot for the series.

He mentioned that there was no confirmation if the captain had resumed bowling as part of his rehabilitation but conceded it was "becoming urgent" for him to recover fully for the first Test.

Backup Options

If he's unavailable, veteran batsman Smith will take over the captaincy.

All-rounder Cameron Green was recently pulled out from the ODI lineup for their ODI contests against the subcontinent side as a precautionary measure because of discomfort in his torso.

He labeled it as a "slight concern and mentioned that he's scheduled to appear in the Sheffield Shield, so will be "ideally positioned to resume bowling."

"We put so much time has gone into creating the schedule for him to participate for the initial game as an all-rounder," he elaborated.

"Originally, he'd only feature in the starting games in any case. His aggressive style the bat in limited-overs, even if it just sets him back for another day, we just made the decision to approach this more conservatively."

Fixture Details

Australia vs England: The Ashes

Spanning from late 2025 to early 2026