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The Australian chief selector Bailey has confirmed that captain Pat Cummins will be a central figure in the upcoming England-Australia contest.

There were concerns that Cummins might sit out due to a persistent back stress problem that was still troubling him.

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

Bailey expressed that the captain is progressing and remained hopeful about his chances of being involved.

"It's clear that the clock is ticking and multiple considerations involved, not only the physical problem, but other factors as well," he commented.

"The outlook is good. There's strong faith that he will feature a key capacity. Hopefully starting in Perth. Otherwise, then we'll pick it up."

Previous Setbacks

The captain missed the white-ball matches against both Asian and Trans-Tasman rivals in the previous weeks after scans revealed a stress reaction in his back.

There is a track record of back injuries, with recurrences in 2012-13, 2013-14 and 2015-16 forcing him out of three Australian summers in four years.

The bowler mentioned he would be ""aggressive" and "take risks" in his rehabilitation process to ensure his availability for the contest.

Bailey noted that he did not know if the captain had resumed bowling as part of his comeback but conceded it was "pressing" for him to recover fully for the opener.

Backup Options

If he's unavailable, ex-skipper Smith will assume leadership.

All-rounder Cameron Green was recently pulled out from the national team for their limited-overs matches against the subcontinent side as a safety move because of an abdominal issue.

Bailey described 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 developing the strategy for him to take part for the first Test as an dual-role player," the selector detailed.

"Originally, he'd only feature in the starting games regardless. The way he swings the cricket bat in white-ball cricket, if it causes any delay for 24 more hours, we just made the decision to take a cautious route."

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