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

There were concerns that the veteran bowler might be unavailable due to a ongoing back issue that had not yet healed.

Previous updates from team management suggested no final decision had been made regarding whether he would play, with the five-Test series scheduled to begin on 21 November in Western Australia.

The selector shared that his recovery is on track and was "optimistic" about the likelihood of being involved.

"We know that time is getting short and there are permutations around that, not just the physical problem, but additional elements," Bailey remarked.

"It's positive. We firmly believe that he will feature a key capacity. With luck it's the first Test. If not, we'll reassess."

Previous Setbacks

Cummins was ruled out Australia's limited-overs series against New Zealand and India last month after examinations confirmed a lumbar bone stress.

He has a history of back injuries, with flare-ups in several earlier campaigns causing him to miss several home seasons in a limited period.

He emphasized he would be ""aggressive" and "take risks" in his rehabilitation process to make the squad for the Ashes.

The selector indicated that he did not know if he had started his bowling workouts as part of his comeback but conceded it was "getting tight" for him to be fit for the opener.

Contingency Plans

Should Cummins not be fit, ex-skipper Smith will take over the captaincy.

All-rounder Cameron Green was recently pulled out from the national team for their limited-overs matches against the subcontinent side as a precautionary measure because of soreness in his side.

He labeled it as a "slight concern and mentioned that Green will play in the Sheffield Shield, so will be "well-prepared to be ready to bowl."

"Extensive planning has gone into developing the strategy for him to participate for the initial game as an dual-role player," he elaborated.

"He was only going to play the first two ODIs anyway. His aggressive style the willow in shorter formats, even if it just sets him back for another day, the choice was made to take a cautious route."

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