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

Rumors had circulated that the 32-year-old might miss the series due to a persistent back stress problem that had not yet healed.

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

Bailey expressed that his recovery is on track and was "optimistic" about the likelihood of being involved.

"It's clear that the window is narrowing and multiple considerations involved, aside from the back issue, but additional elements," Bailey remarked.

"We're encouraged. There's strong faith that he's going to play a major part. With luck it's the first Test. Otherwise, then we'll pick it up."

Past Concerns

Cummins was ruled out the ODI and T20 games against India and New Zealand last month after examinations confirmed a lumbar bone stress.

He has a history of recurring issues, with flare-ups in several earlier campaigns leading to absences from several home seasons in a limited period.

He emphasized he would be ""aggressive" and "take risks" in his rehabilitation process to secure his spot for the contest.

Bailey noted that he did not know if he had started his bowling workouts as part of his recovery but acknowledged it was "pressing" for him to be fit for the opener.

Alternative Arrangements

In case of absence, veteran batsman Smith will assume leadership.

The talented all-rounder was recently pulled out from the national team for their limited-overs matches against the Asian giants as a safety move because of soreness in his side.

Bailey described it as a "slight concern and mentioned that he'll feature in the Sheffield Shield, so will be "ideally positioned to be ready to bowl."

"We put so much time has gone into developing the strategy for him to participate for the first Test as an batting and bowling option," he elaborated.

"Originally, he'd only feature in the first two ODIs regardless. How he handles the cricket bat in white-ball cricket, if it causes any delay for a short period, we just made the decision to adopt a safer strategy."

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