Fast bowler Sean Abbott has been ruled out of the first Ashes Test in Perth with a “moderate grade hamstring injury”, while Australian teammate Josh Hazlewood has been cleared of serious harm having also undergone scans.
On Wednesday afternoon, the New South Wales duo didn’t return to the field after lunch on day three of the Sheffield Shield clash against Victoria at the SCG, instead undergoing scans.
Cricket Australia later confirmed Hazlewood would join the Australian squad as planned in Perth ahead of Ashes opener despite reporting “tightness in his right hamstring”.
“(Hazlewood) underwent precautionary scans which have cleared him of muscle strain,” the CA statement said.
“He will train as planned in the lead up to the first Test in Perth.”
However, the uncapped Abbott, picked for the Ashes opener as reserve bowler, will not be available for the first Test against England, with a “return to play plan will be developed over the coming weeks”.
“Joshy was pretty chipper when he got out, so hopefully he should be fine,” Australian captain Pat Cummins said at a CA announcement for major sponsor NRMA on Wednesday afternoon.
“We’re a week away from the Test series, always err on the side of caution, they wanted to find out what was happening before pushing it and potentially making anything worse.”
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Asked whether the double setback would unsettle Australia’s team ahead of the Ashes campaign, Cummins responded: “Hopefully not too much.
“Joshy was pretty confident when he walked out, so hopefully shouldn’t be too much of an issue.”
He added: “It’s rare to get him chipper, so it was good to see him smiling.
“He knows his body really well. I think he was a little bit worried, wanted to get it checked out. I only saw him briefly, but he was a bit happier afterwards.”
Cummins has already been ruled out of the first Test against England due to a back issue, while the Australians are also missing Lance Morris and Spencer Johnson due to injury.
Blues captain Steve Smith, who will lead Australia at Perth Stadium in Cummins’ absence, confessed it was a nervous afternoon in the field, but confirmed Hazlewood was “good to go” for the Ashes opener.
“I was like, ‘What do you we do with (Mitchell) Starc? Do we just put him on ice completely?’ It’s hard when you’re playing a game and you want to do well for your state, but then you have an eye on next week,” Smith laughed.
“I was like, ‘Geez, I just don’t want to Starcy to get injured (as well).’ I told (Scott) Boland, ‘You can bowl one spell and be done as well.’
“But it’s rough for Sean, who has obviously worked really hard the last few years to get in the squad again. Feeling for him right now.
“Fortunately it was just some tightness (for Hazlewood) and he’s good.”
The injury drama potentially opens the door for South Australian seamer Brendan Doggett to potentially make his Test debut during next week’s Perth contest, which gets underway on November 21. The 31-year-old has taken 13 Sheffield Shield wickets at 14.69 since returning from a minor hamstring injury.
“He’s been bowling really well the last couple of games from what I’ve seen,” Cummins said of Doggett.
“He missed the first (Sheffield Shield) game or two, but he’s come back really strongly. He’s really well placed to be vying for a spot in that first Test. It’s always nice to have a squad full of people in form, and he’s certainly one of those guys.”
Should the Australians require reinforcements to their bowling stocks, Fergus O’Neill, Michael Neser and Xavier Bartlett would come into consideration.
Meanwhile, Cummins confirmed he was still aiming to be available for the second Ashes Test against England, which gets underway at the Gabba on December 4.
“That’s what we’re building towards,” he said.
“Still not 100 per cent yet, so hopefully by Perth I’m up there near 100 per cent, and then we’ll see where we’re at.
“It’s still pretty aggressive, going from nothing to trying to get ready for a Test match in four weeks. But we’re going to give it a good shot.”
