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One might speculate whether Cricket Australia deliberately prefers to be opaque about team selection or simply has a deficiency in communications, but yet again, the health status of athletes and the makeup of the XI must be deduced from the 14-player squad announcement for the Brisbane match.

Normally, an unchanged squad would not be much news, but on this occasion it is, thanks to the anticipated changes involving Pat Cummins and Usman Khawaja, neither of which has come to pass.

The unexpected element is Cummins for his omission, with the team skipper and pace spearhead deep into his recovery from initial symptoms of a stress fracture. The sole official statement 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 indicate that everything is on track and his healing is proceeding well, with a probable return to the side soon. Theoretically, Cummins could even join the Brisbane squad in coming days if he and management so choose. However, something the claims doesn’t add up.

Recalling when his medical tests came back positive in last month, starting the clock on his buildup to match fitness, all official statements from the bowler himself and board schedules suggested he would only narrowly miss the first Test and was scheduled to train at nearly full tilt with the squad in Perth. 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 Sydney following the victory in the west, he was seen bowling in the New South Wales nets without any apparent limitations and, most notably, was using a pink Kookaburra ball, presumably as readiness for the Brisbane day-night game.

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

This is acceptable: prognoses can change, medical staff can be conservative, athletes might take care. It’s just peculiar is that during the high-profile Test series in the season, the board officials don’t appear to consider it necessary to provide 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 Perth during two paltry fielding innings, preventing the regular batsman from doing so in both innings and from having any influence when he eventually batted. Even if his symptoms have subsided, the newness of the problem surely leaves some risk that they might recur in the pressure of Brisbane.

His inclusion suggests he is set to return to opening the batting, even though his replacement scored a historic hundred in Perth. He wouldn’t be selected as a backup or to bat down the order. Once more, there is no official information 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 given the way Head’s whirlwind drew fan interest, it would cause no issue to clarify where both batsmen are slotted to play. A bit of mystery in life is a good thing, but creating it out of the broadly obvious is unnecessary. If you’re in the business of winning over audiences, communication goes a long way.