Pat Cummins Poised for a Significant Contribution in the Ashes

The Australian chair of selectors George Bailey has stated that captain Pat Cummins will play a "major part" in the forthcoming historic rivalry.

There were concerns that the veteran bowler might be unavailable due to a ongoing back issue that was still troubling him.

Previous updates from team management suggested no final decision had been made regarding Cummins' participation, with the extended contest set to start on the 21st of November in Perth.

He revealed that Cummins is "building up" and felt positive about the likelihood of participating.

"It's clear that the clock is ticking and various factors around that, aside from his injury, but further aspects," Bailey remarked.

"It's positive. [We are] really confident that he's going to play a major part. Ideally it's the first Test. Otherwise, we'll adjust."

Previous Setbacks

Cummins was ruled out Australia's limited-overs series against New Zealand and India in the previous weeks after examinations confirmed a lower back issue.

Previous incidents include of spinal problems, with recurrences in several earlier campaigns causing him to miss multiple domestic campaigns in a short span.

Cummins stated he would be ""aggressive" and "take risks" in his recovery plan to make the squad for the series.

Bailey noted that he did not know if he had started his bowling workouts as part of his recovery but conceded it was "getting tight" for him to recover fully for the opener.

Backup Options

In case of absence, veteran batsman Smith will take over the captaincy.

All-rounder Cameron Green was withdrawn recently from Australia's squad for their ODI contests against the subcontinent side as a preventive step because of discomfort in his torso.

The selector characterized it as a "slight concern and mentioned that he's scheduled to appear in the state-level matches, so will be "in a good place to be ready to bowl."

"Considerable effort has gone into building out the plan for him to participate for the opening match as an dual-role player," he elaborated.

"Originally, he'd only feature in the initial matches in any case. How he handles the willow in shorter formats, should it hinder progress for another day, we just made the decision to approach this more conservatively."

Fixture Details

The Historic Rivalry

From November 21, 2025 to January 7, 2026