Pat Cummins has secured 309 wickets in 71 appearances with an stellar bowling average.
Australia's chair of selectors Bailey has confirmed that captain Pat Cummins will play a "major part" in this winter's England-Australia contest.
Speculation had been growing that the veteran bowler might be unavailable due to a ongoing back issue that remained unresolved.
Previous updates from the squad suggested no final decision had been made regarding whether he would play, with the five-Test series set to start on November 21 in Western Australia.
He revealed that Cummins is "building up" and was "optimistic" about his chances of taking part.
"It's clear that the clock is ticking and various factors around that, not just the physical problem, but further aspects," the selector added.
"We're encouraged. We firmly believe that he will feature a major part. Hopefully from the opening match. If not, then we'll pick it up."
Previous Setbacks
Cummins was ruled out the ODI and T20 games against India and New Zealand recently after medical tests showed a lower back issue.
He has a history of recurring issues, with recurrences in 2012-13, 2013-14 and 2015-16 causing him to miss multiple domestic campaigns in four years.
Cummins stated he would be bold in recovery efforts in his rehabilitation process to secure his spot for the series.
Bailey noted that it was unclear if he had started his bowling workouts as part of his comeback but acknowledged it was "getting tight" for him to regain fitness for the first Test.
Backup Options
In case of absence, former captain Steve Smith will take over the captaincy.
The talented all-rounder was excluded lately from the ODI lineup for their one-day international series against the subcontinent side as a preventive step because of soreness in his side.
Bailey described it as a "small issue and mentioned that Green will play in the domestic first-class competition, so will be "well-prepared to resume bowling."
"Extensive planning has gone into developing the strategy for him to participate for the opening match as an all-rounder," he elaborated.
"Originally, he'd only feature in the initial matches in any case. The way he swings the cricket bat in white-ball cricket, if it causes any delay for another day, we opted to adopt a safer strategy."
Match Calendar
The Ashes: Australia v England
Spanning from late 2025 to early 2026
