Pat Cummins is confident he will be passed fit to play in the day-night Test against the West Indies in Adelaide despite struggling to run while fielding in Perth on Sunday.

Cummins suffered a slight strain in his right quad while bowling on Friday in the series opener, and he spent the first 36.3 overs of the West Indies' second innings off the field on Saturday.

Australia were hopeful their attack featuring Josh Hazlewood, Mitchell Starc, Cameron Green and spinner Nathan Lyon would be able to run through the West Indies' line-up without the need for Cummins to re-enter the field.

But a triple-figure opening stand between Kraigg Brathwaite (110) and Tagenarine Chanderpaul (45) prompted the decision to send Cummins back on.

Under MCC rules, Cummins would have been allowed to bowl again from the second hour of play on Sunday.

However, Nathan Lyon's day-five heroics meant the captain wasn't needed, with the West Indies slumping from their overnight score of 3-192 to be all out for 333 chasing 498 runs for victory.

The second Test in Adelaide starts on Thursday, giving Cummins just four days to recover.

Worryingly, the 29-year-old only ran at 60 per cent pace when fielding, but he later explained why he moved so slowly.

"It was more not trying to run as opposed to being restricted to run. I felt alright," Cummins said.

"If (the game) got a bit tighter I was going to have a bowl, but pretty happy I managed to not bowl.

"I give myself a good chance (of playing in Adelaide)."

Cummins is wary of playing before he's fully recovered in case he aggravates the strain, but is confident he has enough time to prove his fitness.

"It's just a small strain," he said.

"I don't really want to turn a one-week injury into a three, four-week injury and potentially miss the summer.

"So we'll weigh all that up. But I felt pretty comfortable out there.

"It already feels pretty good. The physio might be less optimistic, but I think I'll be fine.

"I've got to probably prove myself, have at least one bowl. Hopefully I pass the fitness test and I'm good to go."

Scott Boland is in the squad and would be the frontrunner to come into the XI if Cummins is ruled out.

Australia are also considering flying extra bowlers to Adelaide as cover.

Steve Smith captained the side while Cummins was off the field in Perth, and would likely assume the role again if the skipper is unavailable for Adelaide.