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One might speculate whether Cricket Australia deliberately prefers to be unclear about player availability or simply has a deficiency in public relations, but once again, the health status of athletes and the makeup of the XI must be deduced from the 14-player squad announcement for the second Ashes Test.

Typically, an identical team list would not attract attention, but this time it is, due to the possible movement involving Pat Cummins and Usman Khawaja, none of which has now eventuated.

The unexpected element is Cummins for his omission, with the regular captain and pace spearhead progressing in rehabilitation from initial symptoms of a stress fracture. The only public acknowledgment was a cursory line with the team announcement stating that “Pat Cummins will travel to Brisbane to further his training.”

Suggestions from within CA indicate that this is all situation normal and his recovery remains happily on track, with a probable return to the side soon. In theory, Cummins could even join the Test squad in coming days if he and management so choose. But still, 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 suggested he would just be unavailable for the first Test and was scheduled to train at nearly full tilt with the team during the match. The head coach remarked, “He will be up and bowling in Perth, and people will be sitting there questioning why he’s not playing.”

After returning to his home city following the victory in the west, he was observed practicing in the state facilities without any apparent limitations and, importantly, was training with a pink ball, what one would assume as readiness for the Brisbane day-night game.

What prompted the shift, more than four weeks since Cummins said he would need a month to prepare his workload, and with less than a week to go in the Gabba? Additionally, there are eight more days of rest between matches. If the latter is Cummins’ destination, it will be over two months since he started training again.

That in itself is fine: medical opinions evolve, medical staff can be conservative, athletes might take care. What’s strange is that during the high-profile Test series in Australia’s calendar, the governing body’s representatives don’t appear to consider it reasonable to share any information about the captain’s fitness and availability or the changing nature of either.

If care is the priority with the captain, the opposite applies with the opener’s issue. He had muscle spasms in Perth during brief periods on the field, preventing the regular batsman from playing his role in the match and from having any influence when he did bat down the order. Though he may have improved, the fact he’d not experienced them before surely leaves some risk that they could return in the heat of the next Test.

His inclusion logically means he is due to resume the top order, even though his replacement scored a historic hundred in his place. He wouldn’t be selected as a reserve or to play lower. But again, there is no official information about this, just the selection.

This doesn’t mean that sides must reveal a whole XI when picking their squad, and strategies may shift. But some plans are firmer than others, and given the way Head’s whirlwind drew fan interest, it would do no harm to confirm where those two players are slotted to play. Some uncertainty in sports is a good thing, but creating it out of the clearly evident is unnecessary. For those aiming of engaging fans, transparency is crucial.