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The Australian selection chief Bailey has confirmed that pace spearhead Cummins will play a "major part" in this winter's England-Australia contest.

Rumors had circulated that the 32-year-old might be unavailable due to a persistent back stress problem that was still troubling him.

Initial reports from the Australian camp suggested no final decision had been made regarding Cummins' participation, with the Test matches scheduled to begin on November 21 in Western Australia.

The selector shared that his recovery is on track and was "optimistic" about the likelihood of taking part.

"We know that time is getting short and there are permutations involved, not only his injury, but further aspects," the selector added.

"The outlook is good. We firmly believe that he'll participate in a major part. Hopefully from the opening match. If not, we'll adjust."

Injury History

Cummins was ruled out Australia's limited-overs series against India and New Zealand recently after medical tests showed a lumbar bone stress.

He has a history of recurring issues, with setbacks in multiple past seasons forcing him out of multiple domestic campaigns in a short span.

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

The selector indicated that he did not know if the captain had resumed bowling as part of his recovery but acknowledged it was "becoming urgent" for him to recover fully for the initial match.

Backup Options

If he's unavailable, veteran batsman Smith will assume leadership.

The talented all-rounder was excluded lately from the ODI lineup for their ODI contests against the Asian giants as a preventive step because of soreness in his side.

The selector characterized it as a "small issue and stated that he'll feature in the domestic first-class competition, so will be "ideally positioned to deliver overs."

"Considerable effort has gone into building out the plan for him to take part for the initial game as an all-rounder," he elaborated.

"Originally, he'd only feature in the first two ODIs regardless. The way he swings the bat in limited-overs, should it hinder progress for 24 more hours, the choice was made to approach this more conservatively."

Fixture Details

The Historic Rivalry

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