Australia’s Ashes build-up has taken another dent, Josh Hazlewood now ruled out of next week’s Perth opener with a low-grade hamstring strain that only showed up on a second scan.
Cricket Australia confirmed the change on Saturday. “Initial scans Wednesday were clear of muscle strain, however follow-up imaging today has confirmed the injury. Early imaging can occasionally underestimate low-grade muscle injuries,” the board noted. Hazlewood will stay in Sydney for rehab and is not expected to join the squad until Brisbane at the earliest.
Queensland seamer Michael Neser, who played his two previous Tests when either Pat Cummins or Hazlewood were absent, has been added. New South Wales all-rounder Sean Abbott is also out with a hamstring twinge, so South Australia’s Brendan Doggett, fresh from 13 Shield wickets in two outings, could make his Test debut. If that happens he will become Australia’s third Indigenous male Test cricketer, partnering Scott Boland in what would be a small slice of history.
Hazlewood had looked sharp against India in last month’s white-ball series and equally tidy in this week’s Sheffield Shield match at the SCG. He bowled a brisk spell on the third morning, felt tightness, and told Steven Smith – captaining NSW and set to lead Australia again in Perth – that something wasn’t right. Smith waved him off immediately. A scan next door to the ground came back clear, everyone relaxed, then the follow-up image two days later told a different story.
It becomes another headache for skipper-in-waiting Smith because Cummins is still touch-and-go with a back complaint. The fast bowler sent down a lively, if abbreviated, stint in the SCG nets last week and reckons he is “around 90%”.
“[The Gabba] is what we’re building towards,” Cummins said. “Hopefully by Perth, I’m up there near 100%, and then see where we’re at. It’s still pretty aggressive, going from nothing to trying to get ready for a Test match in four weeks. But we’re going to give it a good shot.”
Since 2014 Australia have played only two home Tests without both Cummins and Hazlewood – the Adelaide day-nighter against England in 2021 and the Brisbane meeting with West Indies a year later. They won both; Neser featured in both. Even so, fringe quicks are being asked to get ready at short notice. Jhye Richardson, selected for a Cricket Australia XI fixture against England Lions, is viewed as the next cab off the rank if more bodies are needed.
Doggett’s story offers the brighter subplot. A hamstring strain kept him out of the winter West Indies tour, yet his return has been eye-catching – brisk pace, awkward bounce and, crucially, wickets. Assistant coach Daniel Vettori noted this week that Doggett’s lengths “have been spot-on for the WACA, really encouraging”.
Mitchell Starc and Boland now shoulder the senior load. Starc’s record at the ground is solid; Boland, a metronomic presence, has never bowled there in a Test. Both insist they are ready, but they would have preferred Hazlewood’s accuracy as a third wheel.
In short, Australia’s fast-bowling depth is again being stretched. The opening Ashes Test begins on Thursday; the selectors have five days to settle on a pace trio that can cope with England’s typically brisk start.
