With Josh Hazlewood fully fit after a side strain, Australia’s selectors will have to make the very difficult choice of choosing a bowling unit for the fourth Ashes Test against England in Sydney from next Wednesday.
Hazlewood is on his way to peak fitness, Australia will have six in-form fast bowlers and one spinner to choose from and the selectors will have some “tough talks” when they sit down to pick the squad. Captain Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Jhye Richardson, Scott Boland and Michael Neser are the fast bowlers in the selectors’ list for the next Test.
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According to reports in Australian media, Hazlewood bowled around 35 minutes at the MCG nets on Thursday but was still feeling uneasy after returning from a side strain.
It was Hazlewood’s first bowling session in nearly three weeks, after injuring his team in the first Ashes match at the Gabba and being ruled out of the next two Tests.
With the series already in favor of Australia, there is an opinion that Hazlewood should be given more time to recover, especially with the tour of Pakistan in March.
But chief selector George Bailey said his panel would not back down if Hazlewood was fit and available.
“I’m a great believer in knowing my body and trusting my body at Hoff,” Bailey was quoted as saying by local media.
“He will build as it is before any kind of Test. He will talk a lot with (assistant) Andrew McDonald and (physio) David Beakley to see how he is getting on.
“If Hoff has confidence and he says he has a right to go then I think we back him. He has earned that confidence.”
Bailey said that despite Australia sealing the series after an innings win in Melbourne, pacer Mitchell Starc cannot be rested despite having featured in all Tests so far. Starc was required to bowl only 25 overs at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) and an early win meant he had two extra days, giving it a week’s rest before the fourth Test.
“Your plans are constantly changing because you don’t know how many overs the bowlers are going to bowl. So you have to be very fluid around that,” Bailey said.
“Today (at the MCG) would have been the fifth day. So our fast bowlers, especially, didn’t have as heavy a workload as in Adelaide and a few extra days off would work in their favour.”
So far, Captain Cummins, who missed the second Test due to the Covid scare, is the only fast bowler confident of playing the fourth Test.
Jhye Richardson was ruled out of the Melbourne Test with a minor leg pain after taking a match-winning five-wicket haul in Adelaide.
However, if Starc and Hazlewood both play, it means there will be no room for debutant Scott Boland, despite his impressive 6-7 performance on debut at the MCG.
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