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Australia's captain Expected to Feature a Major Role in the Ashes

Test match action

Pat Cummins has claimed 309 Test scalps in 71 five-day games with an impressive average.

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

There were concerns that the veteran bowler might sit out due to a stress fracture in his back that had not yet healed.

Earlier indications from the squad suggested no official announcement had been made regarding whether he would play, with the five-Test series set to start on November 21 in Perth.

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

"We know that the clock is ticking and multiple considerations around that, not just the back issue, but further aspects," 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 Australia's limited-overs series against India and New Zealand in the previous weeks after examinations confirmed a lumbar bone stress.

Previous incidents include of recurring issues, with recurrences in several earlier campaigns leading to absences from multiple domestic campaigns in a short span.

He emphasized he would be proactive in his approach in his rehabilitation process to secure his spot for the contest.

The selector indicated that he did not know if Cummins had begun bowling as part of his rehabilitation but admitted it was "becoming urgent" for him to be fit for the first Test.

Alternative Arrangements

Should Cummins not be fit, former captain Steve Smith will take over the captaincy.

The talented all-rounder was withdrawn recently from the national team for their one-day international series against the subcontinent side as a precautionary measure because of an abdominal issue.

The selector characterized it as a "small issue and mentioned that Green will play in the domestic first-class competition, so will be "ideally positioned to deliver overs."

"Extensive planning has gone into building out the plan for him to participate for the opening match as an dual-role player," the selector detailed.

"His involvement was limited to the first two ODIs in any case. The way he swings the cricket bat in white-ball cricket, should it hinder progress for 24 more hours, the choice was made to take a cautious route."

Fixture Details

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Courtney Wolfe

Elena Shaw is a cloud architect and tech writer with over a decade of experience in distributed systems.

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