Hazlewood’s comeback to competitive bowling has hit another snag, casting uncertainty over Australia’s Ashes pace lineup. The 34-year-old bowler is racing against time to contribute after yet another setback on his return from a hamstring injury suffered for New South Wales against Victoria in the Sheffield Shield.
Earlier in the week, Hazlewood was slated to join the Test squad in Brisbane to continue rehabilitation, but he stayed in Sydney. A Cricket Australia spokesperson said Hazlewood reported Achilles soreness during the rehabilitation process. It is described as a low-grade issue, with expectations that he will resume running and bowling next week.
This development underscores a growing reality: Australia’s preferred pace trio—Hazlewood, Pat Cummins, and Mitchell Starc—may not all feature in this series. Hazlewood had been bowling in the nets in Sydney alongside Cummins just ten days earlier, using a red ball rather than a pink one, indicating a push toward the third Test in Adelaide beginning December 17. That timeline now appears less certain for Hazlewood.
There is more promising news for Cummins, who was close to playing in the second Test currently underway in Brisbane but withdrew on the eve of play due to a lingering back injury. Chair of selectors George Bailey stated Cummins would be fit for Adelaide, though the Gabba Test proved too early. Bailey noted that if Cummins had played, there would have been overs restrictions, and that a longer recovery would be preferable.
Bailey also confirmed that Nathan Lyon, dropped for the second Test, would play at Adelaide Oval. With Cummins expected to join Starc and likely Boland in Adelaide, attention will shift to the other pace options—Brendan Doggett and Michael Neser—as potential selections for the next Test.
Starc has shouldered the responsibility in the absence of his two senior teammates, delivering a standout spell with 16 wickets at an average of 11.75.
