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You could wonder whether Cricket Australia deliberately prefers to be opaque about player availability or simply lacks effectiveness in communications, but once again, the fitness of players and final team composition must be deduced from the 14-player squad announcement for the second Ashes Test.

Normally, an unchanged squad would not attract attention, but on this occasion it is, due to the possible movement involving both key players, neither of which has come to pass.

The unexpected element is Cummins for not being included, with the team skipper and fast-bowling leader deep into his recovery from initial symptoms of a stress fracture. The only public acknowledgment was a brief mention with the squad release stating that Cummins is scheduled to go to Brisbane to further his training.”

Suggestions from within CA indicate that everything is on track and his recovery remains happily on track, with a likely addition to the side soon. Theoretically, Cummins could even join the Brisbane squad in the next few days if deemed fit by staff. But still, the explanations seem inconsistent.

Going back to when his medical tests came back positive in October, starting the clock on his buildup to match fitness, all public commentary from the bowler himself and board schedules suggested he would only narrowly miss the first Test and was set to practice at nearly full tilt with the team during the match. The head coach remarked, “Cummins will be fit to bowl in Perth, and people will be sitting there questioning why he’s not playing.”

Once Cummins got back to his home city following the victory in the west, he was seen bowling in the New South Wales nets without any apparent limitations and, importantly, was training with a pink ball, presumably as preparation for the day-night Test.

What prompted the shift, well over a month since he indicated requiring a month to prepare his workload, and with less than a week to go in the Gabba? Additionally, there are over a week’s break between matches. If the latter is Cummins’ destination, it will be more than seven weeks since he started training again.

That in itself is fine: prognoses can change, doctors may be cautious, players can be cautious. It’s just peculiar is that during the most anticipated and closely followed Ashes contest in the season, the board officials don’t appear to consider it reasonable to share any information about the captain’s fitness and availability or the evolving status of either.

And if caution is the watchword with the captain, the reverse is true with the opener’s issue. He had muscle spasms in the first Test during brief periods on the field, keeping Australia’s usual opener from doing so in both innings and from having any influence when he did bat down the order. Even if his symptoms have subsided, the fact he’d not experienced them before creates concern that they might recur in the heat of the next Test.

With Khawaja in the squad logically means he is set to return to opening the batting, even though his replacement scored a historic hundred in Perth. Khawaja wouldn’t be picked as a backup or to bat down the order. But again, there is no confirmation about this, just the selection.

This doesn’t mean that teams should have to give a full lineup when announcing selections, and strategies may shift. However, certain decisions are clearer than others, and considering how Travis Head’s explosive performance captured public attention, it would do no harm to confirm where both batsmen are due to bat. Some uncertainty in sports is a good thing, but creating it out of the broadly obvious is needless. For those aiming of engaging fans, transparency is crucial.