Online Reporter
MELBOURNE.—Australia fast bowler Josh Hazlewood has been ruled out of the remaining Ashes series after struggling with Achilles and hamstring injuries.
Coach Andrew McDonald confirmed Hazlewood would not play any part after missing Australia’s victories in the first Tests against England in Perth and Brisbane.
“Really flat for him,” McDonald said yesterday.
“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.”
However, McDonald said regular captain and paceman Pat Cummins would be ready to return for Adelaide where Australia can retain the urn with a draw.Australia, who hold the urn, lead the five-Test series 2-0. Cummins also missed the opening Tests while recovering from a lower back injury but had proved his fitness with match simulation in Brisbane, McDonald said.
“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,” he added.“We feel as though the simulation in the nets has got him skill-ready. His body’s ready to go.
“Barring anything else happening in the next week, I’d be expecting Pat to be tossing the coin and putting the blazer on.”
Meanwhile, Australia head to Adelaide in good spirits after a perfect start to the Ashes but selectors will have to deal with gnawing questions over the management of senior players. Usman Khawaja missed the Gabba test after suffering back spasms in Perth and the opener is not guaranteed to return to the top of the order. While his replacement Travis Head was unable to produce another knock to rival his match-winning century against England in Perth, his work with rookie opener Jake Weatherald has been a roaring success.
Following their 75-run debut as a partnership in the second innings in Perth, Head and Weatherald put on 77 runs at nearly six runs an over in the first innings at the Gabba to give the hosts a rollicking start in reply to England’s 334.
They put on 37 in their second stand at the Gabba but still peeled off the runs at a furious pace as Australia mowed down 65 for victory late on day four. Head’s value as a middle-order dominator is without question but few home fans would complain if he continues at the top, leaving Khawaja’s 85-test career in doubt as he closes in on his 39th birthday this month.
With Australia’s Test squad dominated by players on the wrong side of 30, the Head-Weatherald combination also offers selectors the perfect excuse to leave Khawaja out in the interests of regenerating the team.
“You’ve got to move on at some stage. It’s just evolution,” former Australia coach Darren Lehmann said on ABC radio.
Having been criticised for not making tough calls, Australia’s selectors sprung a surprise by dropping Nathan Lyon for his first home test since 2012, leaving the 38-year-old spinner carrying the drinks at the Gabba and hugely upset. It generated a storm of criticism on day one of the test, though that died down quickly as replacement seamer Michael Neser took six wickets, including 5-42 in the second innings, in his first test in three years. Lyon’s omission was put down to the vagaries of the pink ball and the belief that he might not be as effective in the evening sessions as another seamer. “It’s certainly nothing against Nathan. He’s a freak,” stand-in captain Steve Smith told reporters after the match.
Australia may opt to continue with a four-prong pace attack at Adelaide and even add another part-time seamer in allrounder Beau Webster, who could replace batter Josh Inglis in the lower middle order.
But passing over Lyon’s 562 test wickets for a red-ball test would be an even bigger call for selectors. —SuperSport.
Mathew Masinge