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One might speculate whether Cricket Australia deliberately prefers to be opaque about team selection or simply lacks effectiveness in communications, but yet again, the fitness of players and the makeup of the XI 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, thanks to the possible movement involving both key players, none 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 stress fracture. The sole official statement was a brief mention with the team announcement 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 he and management so choose. But still, something the claims doesn’t add up.

Going back to when Cummins’ scans were cleared in last month, initiating the countdown on his buildup to match fitness, all public commentary from the bowler himself and board schedules indicated he would only narrowly miss the initial match and was scheduled to train 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.”

Once Cummins got back to his home city following the victory in the west, he was observed practicing in the New South Wales nets without any visible restrictions and, most notably, was training with a pink ball, what one would assume as preparation for the day-night Test.

What prompted the shift, well over a month since he indicated requiring 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 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, medical staff can be conservative, athletes might take care. What’s strange is that during the most anticipated and closely followed Test series in the season, the board officials seem not to think 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 Khawaja’s back injury. He had spasms flare up in Perth during brief periods on the field, preventing the regular batsman 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 could return in the pressure of Brisbane.

His inclusion logically means he is due to resume opening the batting, even though his replacement scored a historic hundred in his place. Khawaja wouldn’t be picked as a backup or to play lower. Once more, there is no official information about this, only the squad listing.

This doesn’t mean that teams should have to give a whole XI when picking their squad, 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 good thing, but creating it out of the broadly obvious is needless. For those aiming of winning over audiences, communication goes a long way.