Cummins' Recovery and Australia's Decision

Speculation had been rife about Pat Cummins making a surprise comeback to the Brisbane Test, especially given the speed of his recovery. However, Australia’s selectors ultimately decided that the risk of playing a bowler whose overs would still require management was too great, even though they remain confident he will be ready for the Adelaide Test.

Chair of selectors George Bailey explained that while the selectors had not been "playing silly buggers" by keeping Cummins' return in the mix, there had been a playful moment when Cummins and coach Andrew McDonald shared a hug during a pitch inspection on Wednesday, which Bailey admitted was "for laughs."

Bailey further emphasized that when the squad was first selected, there had been no expectation of Cummins being available, but as his training in Brisbane ramped up, including two bowling spells on Monday and back-to-back sessions, the possibility of his return became real.

"We weren't playing silly buggers with him not being in the squad and in the mix. But I think once we got up here, saw his training, got as much of the background medical information as well, it became a live possibility," Bailey said. "Then it was just working through the permutations of what that would look like in terms of the amount of overs, what it would look like going forward from that as well."

Assessing Risk and Team Pressure

As the week progressed, the selectors assessed the risk of bringing Cummins back for this Test, considering the pressure it could place on the rest of the attack. Bailey noted that while training in controlled environments like the nets allowed for better management of breaks, the real risk came in the game itself.

"Being in a really controlled environment [in] the nets where you can be really structured around the breaks and how you want it, then it's just that risk of maybe going into a game," Bailey explained.

Khawaja's Back Injury and Head's Role

Meanwhile, Bailey also addressed Usman Khawaja's situation, clarifying that there had been no debate about his place in the squad for the Gabba Test. Khawaja, who batted on Tuesday, was ruled out due to back spasms that hadn't recovered in time. He was later seen in the nets on Thursday. Travis Head, who made 123 runs in the opening match’s chase, will continue in his role at the top for the second Test.

"He hadn't got his back back to baseline," Bailey said of Khawaja. "And if you're not back to the starting point, then it's obviously a heightened risk. There's obviously your own performance, but when you're injured, and you feel like you've let the team down, I think that was something he was just conscious of; if it happened again, it would be an awful feeling. So sitting this one out buys time."

As of now, Head is not being locked in as a permanent opener for the series, with discussions ongoing about in-match flexibility to the batting order.

"We've gone into this series so far very much with a Test-by-Test focus," Bailey said. "I imagine we'll get another look at it here and see what that looks like and see that combination. We can cross that bridge [and] make that decision as and when we need to make that decision, but it's an interesting one. What's the threshold now for it to be a specialist opener? What's that look like?"