Josh Hazlewood, the star pacer for Australia, has talked about his hamstring injury and stated that he hopes to make a recovery in the latter parts of the current Ashes 2025–26 season. The seasoned fast bowler has already been ruled out of the day-night second Test at the Gabba after missing the first Test in Perth. Hazlewood is still recovering and wants to play in the latter stages of the series, even though Australia selected an unchanged team for the pink-ball encounter.
Days before the first Ashes Test, Hazlewood injured his right hamstring playing for New South Wales in the Sheffield Shield. He had to miss the first game when more scans revealed the damage. As Australia prepares for the second Test in Brisbane, they are missing two of its most seasoned fast bowlers due to his absence and Pat Cummins’ continued recuperation.
Notwithstanding the setbacks, Australia got off to a solid start with a victory in Perth and now leads the five-match series 1-0. Selectors have decided to keep the same 14-man team as the pink-ball Test draws near. The squad is hopeful that Hazlewood will make a comeback later in the series because he has been bowling in the nets in Sydney with a red ball.
“Hopefully we’re ahead by then and it’s not still up for grabs,” Hazlewood stated at the SCG on Friday.
“It’s moving slowly. I just started the other day, so I’ll have another bowl today. Everything is going nicely while I’m running. Putting a timeline on it is probably difficult. In my opinion, Australian coach Andrew McDonald’s “Ron” did a fantastic job the other day, hopefully playing a role in the back end.
Pat Cummins will not play in the second test.
Pat Cummins, the captain, has also been ruled out of the second Test along with Hazlewood. The selectors chose not to hurry Cummins despite the fact that he trained hard in Sydney and bowled to Steve Smith with the pink ball at full velocity. He is anticipated to be fit for the third Test in Adelaide after travelling to Brisbane to continue his training.
The same team from the Perth Test has been used by Australia since neither Hazlewood nor Cummins are available. While Brendan Doggett, who took five wickets in Perth, is probably going to keep his position, Smith will continue to serve as stand-in skipper. Despite experiencing back spasms, Usman Khawaja has also been selected; however, his spot in the starting lineup may be contingent upon his recuperation.
Australia’s lineup to play England in the second Test
Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Brendan Doggett, Cameron Green, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Michael Neser, Mitchell Starc, Jake Weatherald, Beau Webster, and Steve Smith (C)
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