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Australia's chair of selectors George Bailey has stated that skipper Cummins will play a "major part" in this winter's England-Australia contest.

There were concerns that the 32-year-old might be unavailable due to a persistent back stress problem that remained unresolved.

Previous updates from team management suggested no official announcement had been made regarding whether he would play, with the extended contest scheduled to begin on the 21st of November in Western Australia.

He revealed that his recovery is on track and remained hopeful about the likelihood of taking part.

"We know that the window is narrowing and various factors at play, aside from the back issue, but additional elements," he commented.

"We're encouraged. [We are] really confident that he's going to play a key capacity. With luck starting in Perth. Should that not happen, we'll reassess."

Injury History

The captain missed the white-ball matches against New Zealand and India recently after medical tests showed a lower back issue.

Previous incidents include of recurring issues, with recurrences in multiple past seasons causing him to miss several home seasons in a limited period.

The bowler mentioned he would be ""aggressive" and "take risks" in his rehabilitation process 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 "pressing" for him to be fit for the initial match.

Contingency Plans

If he's unavailable, former captain Steve 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 Asian giants as a precautionary measure because of an abdominal issue.

He labeled it as a "small issue and mentioned that he'll feature in the state-level matches, 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 dual-role player," he elaborated.

"Originally, he'd only feature in the starting games regardless. His aggressive style the cricket bat in white-ball cricket, even if it just sets him back for 24 more hours, we just made the decision to approach this more conservatively."

Series Schedule

The Ashes: Australia v England

21 November 2025 - 7 January 2026