The Australian skipper has secured over 300 dismissals in 71 five-day games with an stellar bowling average.
The Australian chief selector Bailey has declared that pace spearhead Cummins will play a "major part" in this winter's England-Australia contest.
There were concerns that the 32-year-old might miss the series due to a stress fracture in his back that had not yet healed.
Previous updates from the Australian camp suggested no official announcement had been made regarding whether he would play, with the five-Test series scheduled to begin on the 21st of November in Perth.
The selector shared that the captain is progressing and was "optimistic" about the prospects of taking part.
"We're aware that the clock is ticking and various factors involved, not only his injury, but additional elements," he commented.
"The outlook is good. We firmly believe that he's going to play a key capacity. Ideally it's the first Test. Otherwise, then we'll pick it up."
Past Concerns
He was sidelined Australia's limited-overs series against New Zealand and India recently after medical tests showed a lumbar bone stress.
Previous incidents include of spinal problems, with recurrences in several earlier campaigns causing him to miss multiple domestic campaigns in four years.
He emphasized he would be ""aggressive" and "take risks" in his rehabilitation process to make the squad for the contest.
The selector indicated that it was unclear if he had started his bowling workouts as part of his rehabilitation but admitted it was "becoming urgent" for him to recover fully for the first Test.
Alternative Arrangements
If he's unavailable, veteran batsman Smith will assume leadership.
All-rounder Cameron Green was withdrawn recently from Australia's squad for their one-day international series against the subcontinent side as a safety move because of soreness in his side.
He labeled it as a "small issue and confirmed that he's scheduled to appear in the state-level matches, so will be "ideally positioned to resume bowling."
"Considerable effort has gone into creating the schedule for him to be available for the first Test as an dual-role player," he elaborated.
"His involvement was limited to the initial matches regardless. How he handles the bat in limited-overs, if it causes any delay for 24 more hours, we just made the decision to take a cautious route."
Series Schedule
Australia vs England: The Ashes
From November 21, 2025 to January 7, 2026
