Injured Hazlewood ruled out of Ashes, Cummins set for comeback
Brisbane, Dec 9 (IANS/WISHAVWARTA) Australia pacer Josh Hazlewood will miss the rest of the series after suffering an injury setback while Pat Cummins appears certain to captain Australia in the third Test in Adelaide.
Coach Andrew McDonald confirmed on Tuesday that Hazlewood, who sustained a hamstring strain while bowling in the Sheffield Shield last month and then suffered a setback when he hurt his Achilles last week, would not feature against England this summer.
Hazlewood will instead focus on recovering in time for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup that commences on February 7.
“Really flat for him. A couple of setbacks that we didn’t see coming. We thought he’d play a huge part in the series. But really feel for him that he won’t get that opportunity,”McDonald told reporters on Tuesday.
Cummins, who was close to returning on overs restrictions in Brisbane after his recovery from a lower-back injury, progressed quicker than expected and is almost certain to feature in the third Test.
“There won’t be any match opportunities for Pat (before Adelaide) – and this is something we’ve done with Pat before long-ish layoffs, where we’ve put some time and effort into rebuilding his body,” said McDonald.
“He was out at Allan Border Field whilst everyone was at the Gabba; he simulated pretty much what a match will look like out there with multiple spells.
“So we feel as though he’ll be as best prepared as can be. He was well ahead of where we thought he’d be at and it did create a real live conversation for (Cummins playing in) Brisbane.
“It was debated a lot leading into that Test match. With that in mind, us seeing him further advanced, we feel he’ll be really well placed for the challenges of Adelaide albeit (it’s still) a long way off.
Meanwhile, veteran spinner Nathan Lyon has been tipped to be back for the final three Tests too after being overlooked for the pink-ball match at the Gabba.
Two of Boland, Michael Neser and Brendon Doggett are now likely to miss in Adelaide, giving Australia at least some fresh pace reinforcements for the final two Tests.
“The gap between (Tests) one and two, and two and three, was something we thought we could manage.
“Now obviously we’ve got a big inclusion coming in – and I think that’ll be announced tomorrow officially that Pat will be back in the squad – so that obviously creates a different balance to our attack,” said McDonald.
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