Pat Cummins has taken 309 wickets in 71 Test matches with an impressive average.
The Australian chief selector George Bailey has confirmed that skipper Cummins will play a "major part" in the forthcoming Ashes series.
There were concerns that the veteran bowler might miss the series due to a persistent back stress problem that was still troubling him.
Earlier indications from team management suggested no official announcement had been made regarding his involvement, with the five-Test series kicking off on the 21st of November in Western Australia.
The selector shared that the captain is progressing and remained hopeful about his chances of participating.
"We know that the clock is ticking and various factors around that, not only the back issue, but other factors as well," he commented.
"We're encouraged. We firmly believe that he will feature a major part. Hopefully it's the first Test. Should that not happen, then we'll pick it up."
Previous Setbacks
He was sidelined the ODI and T20 games against New Zealand and India last month after examinations confirmed a lumbar bone stress.
He has a history of recurring issues, with recurrences in 2012-13, 2013-14 and 2015-16 leading to absences from multiple domestic campaigns in a short span.
Cummins stated he would be bold in recovery efforts in his recovery plan to make the squad for the contest.
Bailey noted that he did not know if Cummins had begun bowling as part of his rehabilitation but conceded it was "becoming urgent" for him to regain fitness for the first Test.
Alternative Arrangements
If he's unavailable, former captain Steve Smith will lead the side.
Versatile player Green was excluded lately from Australia's squad for their limited-overs matches against India as a precautionary measure because of discomfort in his torso.
Bailey described it as a "slight concern and confirmed that he'll feature in the Sheffield Shield, so will be "in a good place to deliver overs."
"We put so much time has gone into developing the strategy for him to be available for the initial game as an all-rounder," he elaborated.
"He was only going to play the first two ODIs regardless. How he handles the willow in shorter formats, even if it just sets him back for another day, we opted to adopt a safer strategy."
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