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You could wonder whether the Australian cricket board intentionally chooses to be opaque about player availability or simply lacks effectiveness in communications, but once again, the health status of athletes and the makeup of the XI must be deduced from the selection in the larger squad for the second Ashes Test.

Typically, an unchanged squad would not attract attention, but on this occasion 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 team skipper and fast-bowling leader progressing in rehabilitation from initial symptoms of a back injury. The only public acknowledgment was a cursory line with the squad release stating that Cummins is scheduled to go to Brisbane to continue his preparations.”

Suggestions from within CA support the view that everything is on track and his recovery remains happily on track, with a likely addition to the side soon. Theoretically, he might still be added to the Test squad in the next few days if he and management so choose. But still, the explanations seem inconsistent.

Recalling when his medical tests came back positive in last month, initiating the countdown on his return to play, all public commentary from the bowler himself and timelines from CA suggested he would only narrowly miss the initial match and was set to practice at nearly full tilt with the squad in Perth. Coach Andrew McDonald said, “Cummins will be fit to bowl in Perth, and people will be sitting there questioning 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, presumably as preparation for the day-night Test.

What prompted the shift, more than four weeks since he indicated requiring four weeks to build up bowling loads, and with less than a week to go in Brisbane? Additionally, there are eight more days of rest between matches. Should he target Adelaide, it will be over two months since he resumed bowling.

This is acceptable: prognoses can change, doctors may be cautious, players can be cautious. What’s strange is that during the most anticipated and closely followed Test series in the season, the governing body’s representatives don’t appear to consider it reasonable to share updates about the captain’s fitness and availability or the evolving status of either.

And if caution is the watchword with the captain, the opposite applies with the opener’s issue. He had muscle spasms in the first Test during two paltry fielding innings, keeping Australia’s usual opener from doing so 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.

With Khawaja in the squad suggests 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. Once more, there is no confirmation about this, just the selection.

It isn’t necessary that sides must reveal a full lineup when picking their squad, and strategies may shift. But some plans are firmer than others, and given the way Travis Head’s explosive performance captured public attention, it would do no harm to confirm where those two players are slotted to play. Some uncertainty in sports is a positive, but manufacturing it out of the broadly obvious is needless. For those aiming of winning over audiences, transparency is crucial.