Josh Hazlewood given the all-clear of fitness concerns however Sean Abbott ruled out of Test

Josh Hazlewood cricket action

The bowler has claimed 295 wickets at an average of 24.21 across 76 Test matches

Published half an hour ago

The green light was given to Hazlewood to link up with the Australian team for the initial Test against England following fitness concerns, however, teammate Abbott has been ruled out

The two experienced hamstring issues during their match for NSW against Victoria during Sheffield Shield action this past Wednesday

Scans showed the 34-year-old Hazlewood escaped tissue injury. The uncapped Abbott, 33, has a moderate-level injury

Skipper Pat Cummins will miss the opening Test, starting November 21, therefore missing of a key pace option such as Hazlewood might have represented a major blow

Abbott was doubtful to feature in Perth, with Hazlewood set to join Starc and Boland forming the fast bowling unit

Cummins, who is recovering from spinal concerns, is expected to be likely to comeback during the next Test in Brisbane starting on 4 December

Top-order player Smith will captain the side in Cummins' absence

Similar to most Australian cricketers, Hazlewood participated in ongoing fixtures of Sheffield Shield matches ahead of the historic rivalry

Prior to recently, he hadn't featured domestic first-class games for New South Wales for over twelve months

He noticed discomfort in his leg muscle towards the end of Victoria's second innings during the match exiting the play as a precaution

Neither Hazlewood nor Abbott batted in their team's second batting effort as they lost by 300 runs

"We have one week before the international cricket - we consistently choose being cautious," commented Cummins

"The medical staff sought to identify the nature of the problem before pushing it and potentially making anything worse"

"It's rare to get him upbeat, therefore it was positive to witness his smile"

"He understands his physique thoroughly. I think he was somewhat concerned (seeking to obtain medical assessment"

The bowler collected 57 international selections for Australia in ODI and T20 cricket

Without Test experience Brendan Doggett represents additional pace options in the squad, providing cover for the main pace trio

Erin Jennings
Erin Jennings

Tech enthusiast and AI expert with over a decade of experience in developing cutting-edge solutions for various industries.

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