Pat Cummins has taken 309 wickets in 71 Test matches with an impressive average.
The Australian selection chief George Bailey has stated that captain Pat Cummins will play a "major part" in this winter's England-Australia contest.
There were concerns that the veteran bowler might be unavailable due to a persistent back stress problem that was still troubling him.
Previous updates from the Australian camp suggested no official announcement had been made regarding his involvement, with the Test matches kicking off on 21 November in the WACA.
Bailey expressed that his recovery is on track and remained hopeful about his chances of participating.
"It's clear that the window is narrowing and there are permutations at play, aside from his injury, but additional elements," Bailey remarked.
"We're encouraged. There's strong faith that he'll participate in a major part. Hopefully it's the first Test. Should that not happen, we'll adjust."
Previous Setbacks
The captain missed the ODI and T20 games against India and New Zealand recently after medical tests showed a stress reaction in his back.
Previous incidents include of back injuries, with setbacks in several earlier campaigns causing him to miss three Australian summers in a short span.
The bowler mentioned he would be bold in recovery efforts in his recovery plan to secure his spot for the Ashes.
The selector indicated that he did not know if the captain had resumed bowling as part of his recovery but admitted it was "becoming urgent" for him to be fit for the first Test.
Contingency Plans
Should Cummins not be fit, veteran batsman Smith will lead the side.
Versatile player Green was recently pulled out from the national team for their ODI contests against the subcontinent side as a preventive step because of soreness in his side.
The selector characterized it as a "small issue and confirmed that Green will play in the Sheffield Shield, so will be "in a good place to be ready to bowl."
"Considerable effort has gone into developing the strategy for him to take part for the opening match as an batting and bowling option," the selector detailed.
"He was only going to play the initial matches regardless. The way he swings the cricket bat in white-ball cricket, even if it just sets him back for another day, the choice was made to approach this more conservatively."
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The Historic Rivalry
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