Australian captain Pat Cummins trains with pink ball in telling sign he will return for second Ashes Test

Australian captain Pat Cummins is firming to play in the second Ashes Test after training strongly on Tuesday.

In a big clue the star bowler will play in the day-night Test at the Gabba, he was spotted bowling with a pink ball at Cricket NSW headquarters.

WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: Cummins races to be fit for second Test.

In more positive news, Josh Hazlewood was also training in a sign that he will feature at some point in the series.

The pair bowled at Sydney Olympic Park as the NSW state side continued their Sheffield Shield clash against Tasmania.

Cummins, who missed the first Test with a lingering back injury, on Saturday admitted he feared at one point he may miss the whole Ashes.

But the pace ace has been pulling up well from extended training sessions and looks on track to play in Brisbane.

He had always targeted the second Test, but coach Andrew McDonald stopped short of making a call when speaking to the media on Monday.

“For those who saw him (Cummins) in Perth — I did say this a while back, that he will be up and bowling in Perth, and people will be sitting there questioning why he’s not playing,” McDonald said.

“That was what presented to us.

“It looked like a player that was nearing the completion of his rehabilitation.

“The intensity was there, the ball speed was there.

“So there’s a lot of positives there, but now it’s just really building that resilience there, and making sure that we’re not putting him in harm’s way in terms of accelerating it too much.

“But it will be a genuine discussion leading into this Test match, and that may be one that eventuates late for us.”

Hazlewood, who missed the first Test with a hamstring injury, was bowling with a red ball, which suggests he will be unlikely to feature in Brisbane.

McDonald believes Hazlewood won’t miss the whole series despite him being constantly weighed down by injuries in recent years.

Hazlewood played just two of the five Border-Gavaskar Trophy Tests last summer, then didn’t travel to spin-dominated Sri Lanka in January.

“He’s working through the first week of his rehab,” McDonald on Monday said of Hazlewood.

“I’m not sure that we need to give an update on that.

“Once he gets further down the track and have some rough timelines, then we’ll be in a position to communicate that.

“I know that he’ll be available at some point during the series.

“We’ve got a little bit of that early rehab to go through to formulate where he may plug into the series, but we expect him to take some part in the series.”

Usman Khawaja’s spot has not been guaranteed, even if the veteran opener recovers from the back spasms that had him off the field for long periods and only batting once in Perth.

The 38-year-old is being assessed further now that he is back in Brisbane, as the back problems were unusual and only flared up on day one.

Former Australia wicketkeeper Ian Healy believes Khawaja should be picked for the second Test if he proves his fitness.

“I’m saying, ‘right, you’re in, but now it’s time to perform’,” Healy told SEN.

“If he can’t come up with his back injury, then it’s probably time to replace.”

Travis Head made the most compelling case to remain as a Test opener with his classic fourth-innings 123 that could leave psychological scars on England for the rest of the summer.

The 31-year-old confirmed he would be up for opening the batting, as he does in white-ball cricket, if the team wanted him to.

Unlucky allrounder Beau Webster, dropped ahead of Perth, could come back in at No.6 if Khawaja is out, with Cameron Green to then shuffle up a spot.

Josh Inglis, who played two Tests in Sri Lanka earlier this year, is also a contender to bat in the middle after scoring a speedy century against the England Lions on Monday.

- With AAP