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The Australian chief selector Bailey has stated that captain Pat Cummins will have a crucial role in this winter's historic rivalry.

Speculation had been growing that Cummins might miss the series due to a ongoing back issue that remained unresolved.

Previous updates from the Australian camp suggested no definitive call had been made regarding Cummins' participation, with the five-Test series kicking off on the 21st of November in Western Australia.

The selector shared that Cummins is "building up" and felt positive about the prospects of participating.

"It's clear that the window is narrowing and there are permutations at play, aside from the back issue, but additional elements," he commented.

"The outlook is good. There's strong faith that he'll participate in a major part. With luck from the opening match. Otherwise, we'll reassess."

Previous Setbacks

He was sidelined the white-ball matches against India and New Zealand recently after medical tests showed a stress reaction in his back.

There is a track record of spinal problems, with flare-ups in 2012-13, 2013-14 and 2015-16 causing him to miss multiple domestic campaigns in four years.

Cummins stated he would be proactive in his approach in his recovery plan to make the squad for the Ashes.

Bailey noted that there was no confirmation if Cummins had begun bowling as part of his rehabilitation but acknowledged it was "pressing" for him to regain fitness for the opener.

Alternative Arrangements

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

The talented all-rounder was withdrawn recently from the ODI lineup for their ODI contests against India as a safety move because of an abdominal issue.

He labeled it as a "slight concern and mentioned that he'll feature in the state-level matches, so will be "well-prepared to be ready to bowl."

"Considerable effort has gone into creating the schedule for him to be available for the initial game as an all-rounder," the selector detailed.

"Originally, he'd only feature in the starting games anyway. How he handles the willow in shorter formats, should it hinder progress for 24 more hours, we opted to approach this more conservatively."

Series Schedule

The Historic Rivalry

Spanning from late 2025 to early 2026