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You could wonder whether Cricket Australia deliberately prefers to be unclear about player availability or simply has a deficiency in communications, but once again, the fitness of players and final team composition must be inferred from the selection in the larger squad for the second Ashes Test.

Normally, an unchanged squad would not attract attention, but this time it is, thanks to the anticipated changes involving Pat Cummins and Usman Khawaja, neither of which has come to pass.

Cummins is the surprise for his omission, with the regular captain and pace spearhead progressing in rehabilitation from initial symptoms of a back injury. The sole official statement was a brief mention with the squad release stating that Cummins is scheduled to go to Brisbane to further his training.”

Insider reports indicate that everything is on track and his recovery remains happily on track, with a likely addition to the team in the near future. In theory, Cummins could even join the Brisbane squad in coming days if deemed fit by staff. However, the explanations seem inconsistent.

Recalling when Cummins’ scans were cleared in last month, initiating the countdown on his buildup to match fitness, all official statements from the bowler himself and timelines from CA indicated he would just be unavailable for the first Test and was set to practice at close to full intensity with the squad in Perth. The head coach remarked, “Cummins will be fit to bowl in Perth, and fans will wonder why he’s not playing.”

After returning to Sydney following the team’s raucous two-day win, he was observed practicing in the New South Wales nets without any apparent limitations and, most notably, was training with a pink ball, what one would assume as preparation for the day-night Test.

So, why the change of plans, more than four weeks since Cummins said he would need four weeks to build up his workload, and with six days until the first ball in Brisbane? Additionally, there are eight more days of rest between Brisbane and the third Test. Should he target Adelaide, it will be more than seven weeks since he resumed bowling.

This is acceptable: prognoses can change, medical staff can be conservative, athletes might take care. It’s just peculiar is that during the most anticipated and closely followed Test series in Australia’s calendar, the governing body’s representatives don’t appear to consider it reasonable to share updates about the skipper’s condition or the changing nature of either.

And if caution is the watchword with the captain, the reverse is true with the opener’s issue. He had spasms flare up in the first Test during brief periods on the field, preventing the regular batsman from doing so in the match and from making an impact when he did bat down the order. Though he may have improved, the newness of the problem surely leaves some risk that they could return in the heat of the next Test.

With Khawaja in the squad suggests he is due to resume opening the batting, even though his replacement scored a historic hundred in Perth. Khawaja wouldn’t be picked as a reserve or to play lower. But again, there is no confirmation about this, only the squad listing.

It isn’t necessary that teams should have to give a whole XI when announcing selections, and strategies may shift. But some plans are firmer than others, and given the way Travis Head’s explosive performance drew fan interest, it would do no harm to clarify where those two players are slotted to play. A bit of mystery in life is a positive, but creating it out of the broadly obvious is unnecessary. If you’re in the business of engaging fans, communication goes a long way.