Australian cricket coach Andrew McDonald has rubbished suggestions Josh Hazlewood might miss the entire Ashes series, saying he believes he’ll play at some stage. Channel 7’s Peter Lalor revealed on Sunday he’d heard whispers that Hazlewood might not play at all this summer due to his hamstring issue.
Hazlewood failed to finish his lone Sheffield Shield match in the build-up to the first Ashes Test in Perth. The star fast bowler was in excellent from in the ODI series against India and looked to be fresh for NSW. However, he left the SCG after injuring his hamstring during the match against Victoria, and was subsequently ruled out of the first Test.
Andrew McDonald (L) believes Josh Hazlewood (R) will play a part in the Ashes at some stage. Image: Getty
This was a major blow for the Aussies, with Pat Cummins already ruled out because of a back injury. Cummins was seen putting in the hard work in the nets for Australia in the build-up to the first Test, and Cummins could be back for the Gabba Test after training at near full strength this week.
However, cricket reporter Lalor claimed the whispers suggest Hazlewood’s injury is more serious than first thought and he could be set to miss the entire Ashes series. “If these whispers I am hearing about Hazlewood are right, you are not going to see him again,” Lalor said on Channel 7. “If the worse comes to fruition with Hazlewood, we might not see him again in this series. So Pat Cummins becomes even more valuable.”
Andrew McDonald shoots down claims about Josh Hazlewood
But speaking to reporters on Monday, McDonald insisted that’s not the case. “I don’t know where that speculation began, but he’s working through the first week of his rehab,” McDonald said. “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.”
McDonald said there will be a “genuine discussion” about whether Cummins plays the day-night Test in Brisbane. “It looked like a player that was nearing the completion of his rehabilitation,” the coach said about Cummins bowling in the nets last week.
“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.”
Hazlewood’s absence will most likely see Brendan Doggett remain as part of the bowling attack. Doggett bowled well on his debut for Australia having taken 2-27 in the first innings.
And the debutant provided more support for Mitchell Starc and Scott Boland taking 3-51 in England’s second innings. Boland was always set for a large role in this year’s Ashes series, but could have made way in the bowling attack if the XI was at full strength. Although it appears Boland might be called upon to play four or five Test matches in the Ashes series if Hazlewood isn’t able to return.
Scott Boland to play huge role in Ashes series
Starc stood up without the familiar faces around him in the Test match and took 10 wickets, which saw him awarded the player of the match award. But Boland also made his mark, ripping through the top order with precision after lunch on day two to turn the match. Boland squared up Ben Duckett, before Ollie Pope dangled at one outside off.
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Boland finished the day with 4-33 to take his wicket tally to 55 in Test match cricket. And it also continued his remarkable record in Australia. Boland has an average of 13.47 across 10 Test matches bowling in Australia.
This is the best average of any bowler who has played at least 10 matches for Australia. England could now be forced to readjust their plans of going after Boland with their ‘Bazball’ approach being exposed on Saturday.
Scott Boland (pictured) was the star bowler for Australia on day two.