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One might speculate whether the Australian cricket board deliberately prefers to be opaque about team selection 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.

Normally, an identical team list would not attract attention, but this time it is, thanks to the possible movement involving Pat Cummins and Usman Khawaja, none of which has come to pass.

Cummins is the surprise for his omission, with the team skipper and pace spearhead deep into his recovery from early signs of a stress fracture. The sole official statement was a cursory line with the team announcement stating that “Pat Cummins will travel to Brisbane to continue his preparations.”

Insider reports support the view that everything is on track and his healing is proceeding well, with a likely addition to the team in the near future. Theoretically, Cummins could even join the Test squad in coming days if deemed fit by staff. However, something the claims doesn’t add up.

Going back to when Cummins’ scans were cleared in October, starting the clock on his buildup to match fitness, all public commentary from the player and timelines from CA indicated he would only narrowly miss the initial match and was scheduled to train at close to full intensity with the squad in Perth. Coach Andrew McDonald said, “He will be up and bowling 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 state facilities without any apparent limitations and, most notably, was using a pink Kookaburra ball, what one would assume as readiness for the Brisbane day-night game.

So, why the change of plans, 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? Not to mention, there are over a week’s break between Brisbane and the third Test. Should he target Adelaide, it will be more than seven weeks 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 board officials seem not to think it necessary to provide updates about the skipper’s condition or the changing nature of either.

And if caution is the watchword with Cummins, the reverse is true with the opener’s issue. He had muscle spasms 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 eventually batted. Though he may have improved, the newness of the problem surely leaves some risk that they could return in the heat of the next Test.

With Khawaja in the squad logically means he is set to return to the top order, even though Travis Head made a record-setting century in Perth. 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 full lineup when announcing selections, and strategies may shift. But some plans are firmer than others, and considering how Head’s whirlwind captured public attention, it would cause no issue to clarify where those two players are due to bat. Some uncertainty in life is a good thing, but manufacturing it out of the clearly evident is needless. For those aiming of winning over audiences, transparency is crucial.