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Josh Hazlewood bowled just one gingerly over on Tuesday. He has since been taken for scans.
Josh Hazlewood bowled just one over on Tuesday before pulling out injured.
Pundits in Australia are questioning the home side’s decision to play Josh Hazlewood at the Gabba despite the pacer dealing with injuries in the lead-up to the third Test. Hazlewood bowled just one over on Tuesday before pulling up his calf and walking out of the pitch.
Cricket Australia announced that the pacer was taken for scans after feeling ‘calf awareness’ and Pat Cummins was a bowler short for most of the first session of the day. He looked gingerly in the only over he bowled and was immediately involved in a chat with skipper Cummins and physio Nick Jones during the drinks break, before walking off.
Former Australian cricketer Kerry O’Keeffe felt that the decision had more to do with the team’s plans to rotate their bowlers to manage their workload.
“Trying to look at the Australian strategy, I think they had in mind that Hazlewood should play this and miss Melbourne,” O’Keeffe said, as quoted by Fox Sports. “Melbourne is by a long way his worst pitch in Australia and then (Mitchell) Starc miss Sydney, which is a long way his worst pitch in Australia. So I think they factored in that Australia was going to play this one and that (Scott) Boland, who loves the MCG would come in for Melbourne. And that may well be the case now anyway. The Boland numbers are irresistible. But questions will be asked, was he (Hazlewood) fit going into this game?”
Boland picked up five wickets in the Adelaide Test when Hazlewood was out with a side strain and played a huge role in Australia’s win. Hazlewood has picked up just 16 wickets in seven matches at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) at an underwhelming average of 39.63 while Boland has 10 wickets in four innings at 13.80 apiece.
Former England captain Michael Vaughan believed that Hazelwood would probably miss this Test as well as the next.
“Without any question I think we will be seeing Scott Boland at the MCG,” Vaughan said. “I think Hazlewood I’m not too sure he will bowl much more. Mitchell Marsh can come on and bowl a few. He looks ginger like he is really struggling. He’s walking back gingerly. He is just not right,” he said.
- Location :
Brisbane, Australia
