The pace bowler has secured 309 wickets in 71 five-day games with an stellar bowling average.
The Australian chief selector George Bailey has confirmed that captain Pat Cummins will be a central figure in the forthcoming Ashes series.
Speculation had been growing that Cummins might miss the series due to a ongoing back issue that had not yet healed.
Previous updates from the Australian camp suggested no official announcement had been made regarding his involvement, with the Test matches scheduled to begin on the 21st of November in Western Australia.
He revealed that Cummins is "building up" and remained hopeful about his chances of participating.
"We're aware that time is getting short and multiple considerations involved, not only the back issue, but further aspects," the selector added.
"It's positive. There's strong faith that he's going to play a key capacity. Hopefully from the opening match. Should that not happen, we'll adjust."
Injury History
The captain missed Australia's limited-overs series against New Zealand and India last month after medical tests showed a lower back issue.
There is a track record of recurring issues, with recurrences in several earlier campaigns forcing him out of multiple domestic campaigns in a limited period.
The bowler mentioned he would be ""aggressive" and "take risks" in his comeback strategy to ensure his availability for the Ashes.
He mentioned that he did not know if the captain had resumed bowling as part of his rehabilitation but conceded it was "becoming urgent" for him to be fit for the opener.
Backup Options
Should Cummins not be fit, former captain Steve Smith will take over the captaincy.
All-rounder Cameron Green was excluded lately from the national team for their ODI contests against the Asian giants as a safety move because of soreness in his side.
The selector characterized it as a "small issue and mentioned that he's scheduled to appear in the domestic first-class competition, so will be "ideally positioned to be ready to bowl."
"Considerable effort has gone into developing the strategy for him to be available for the opening match as an dual-role player," Bailey explained.
"His involvement was limited to the first two ODIs in any case. His aggressive style the cricket bat in white-ball cricket, if it causes any delay for 24 more hours, we just made the decision to adopt a safer strategy."
Match Calendar
The Ashes: Australia v England
Spanning from late 2025 to early 2026
