The Australian skipper has taken 309 Test scalps in 71 five-day games with an average of 22.10.
Australia's chair of selectors Bailey has declared that captain Pat Cummins will play a "major part" in the forthcoming England-Australia contest.
Rumors had circulated that the veteran bowler might sit out due to a stress fracture in his back that was still troubling him.
Previous updates from team management suggested no official announcement had been made regarding Cummins' participation, with the extended contest set to start on 21 November in Perth.
Bailey expressed that Cummins is "building up" and remained hopeful about his chances of taking part.
"We're aware that time is getting short and various factors around that, not just the back issue, but other factors as well," the selector added.
"The outlook is good. We firmly believe that he will feature a major part. Hopefully it's the first Test. If not, we'll adjust."
Previous Setbacks
He was sidelined the ODI and T20 games against New Zealand and India recently after scans revealed a lower back issue.
Previous incidents include of recurring issues, with recurrences in several earlier campaigns causing him to miss three Australian summers in a limited period.
He emphasized he would be ""aggressive" and "take risks" in his recovery plan to make the squad for the series.
He mentioned that it was unclear if Cummins had begun bowling as part of his comeback but conceded it was "becoming urgent" for him to be fit for the first Test.
Contingency Plans
Should Cummins not be fit, ex-skipper Smith will take over the captaincy.
All-rounder Cameron Green was recently pulled out from the national team for their one-day international series against India as a precautionary measure because of soreness in his side.
He labeled it as a "minor" injury and mentioned that Green will play in the Sheffield Shield, so will be "ideally positioned to resume bowling."
"We put so much time has gone into building out the plan for him to participate for the opening match as an all-rounder," he elaborated.
"His involvement was limited to the starting games anyway. How he handles the willow in shorter formats, if it causes any delay for a short period, we just made the decision to approach this more conservatively."
Match Calendar
Australia vs England: The Ashes
From November 21, 2025 to January 7, 2026
