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The Australian chair of selectors the selector has confirmed that skipper Cummins will play a "major part" in the forthcoming England-Australia contest.

Speculation had been growing that Cummins might be unavailable due to a stress fracture in his back that remained unresolved.

Previous updates from the squad suggested no official announcement had been made regarding whether he would play, with the extended contest set to start on the 21st of November in the WACA.

He revealed that his recovery is on track and remained hopeful about the prospects of being involved.

"It's clear that the clock is ticking and multiple considerations involved, aside from his injury, but additional elements," the selector added.

"The outlook is good. We firmly believe that he's going to play a significant role. Hopefully from the opening match. If not, we'll reassess."

Injury History

The captain missed the white-ball matches against New Zealand and India last month after scans revealed a lower back issue.

He has a history of spinal problems, with setbacks in 2012-13, 2013-14 and 2015-16 causing him to miss several home seasons in four years.

The bowler mentioned he would be ""aggressive" and "take risks" in his comeback strategy to ensure his availability for the contest.

He mentioned that it was unclear if he had started his bowling workouts as part of his comeback but acknowledged it was "becoming urgent" for him to recover fully for the initial match.

Contingency Plans

In case of absence, ex-skipper Smith will lead the side.

All-rounder Cameron Green was recently pulled out from Australia's squad for their one-day international series against India as a precautionary measure because of discomfort in his torso.

The selector characterized it as a "small issue and mentioned that he's scheduled to appear in the domestic first-class competition, so will be "ideally positioned to resume bowling."

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

"He was only going to play the starting games anyway. How he handles the bat in limited-overs, if it causes any delay for a short period, we opted to adopt a safer strategy."

Series Schedule

The Ashes: Australia v England

Spanning from late 2025 to early 2026