Australia were hurt after the embarrassing 295-run defeat to India in the series opener in Perth and now they will be hamstrung as Josh Hazlewood has been ruled out of the second Test with injury.
The senior pacer, a key member of Australia’s bowling group, is down with a side strain and has been ruled out of the second Test in Adelaide that begins on December 6.
There were already talks earlier that the Australian pace trio of Mitchell Starc, captain Pat Cummins and Hazlewood — featuring together in 10 successive Tests till
the Perth game — may not last the entire Border-Gavaskar Trophy since all three of them are in their 30s. But little did the Australians expect that the trio would be separated so early.
According to a Cricket Australia statement, Hazlewood has a “low-grade left-side injury” and will remain with the squad in Adelaide to work on his recovery. Sean Abbott and Brendan Doggett, both uncapped in Test cricket, have been added to the Australian squad, although Scott Boland looks most likely to take Hazlewood’s place for the second Test.
The Adelaide Test being a pink-ball day-night game, India certainly won’t mind the absence of Hazlewood, whose exemplary discipline has been key to Australia’s success, especially in the Test and ODI formats. The 33-year-old was India’s chief tormentor with 5/8 in their 36 all-out humiliation in a pink-ball game in Adelaide four years ago.
Even in Perth, Hazlewood was by far Australia’s best bowler with match figures of 5/57 across 34 overs while his other pace colleagues, Starc and Cummins, were a bit all over the place when conditions became easier for batting during the second innings.
The pink ball usually does more, especially during the twilight period, and not having to negotiate with Australia’s most consistent and disciplined bowler should bring some relief to the Indian camp. The Indians, though, couldn’t have their share of match practice with the pink ball as Day I of their warm-up game against the Prime Minister’s XI in Canberra was called off due to rain.
On Sunday, the second and final day of the game, both teams are set to play a 50-overs-a-side game.
Though they won’t have to face Hazlewood at the Adelaide Oval, dealing with Boland will also be a task for Team India. The 35-year-old Boland, who has an impressive record at home with 28 wickets at 12.21 from six Tests, had troubled India at last year’s World Test Championship (WTC) final at The Oval with his consistent outside off-stump line and the ball that jags back into the right-hander.
Even if he’s unable to take wickets, Boland can at least keep it tight on one end, inducing the batsman to make a mistake, something he had done in the 2023 WTC final to dismiss a set Virat Kohli on 49 in the fourth innings.
“Obviously, I haven’t played a heap of cricket at the start of this season, but I feel like I’ve played enough to feel like I’m in a really good spot,” Boland said on Saturday.
“My body’s feeling really good now. I had a couple of niggles that were a little bit sore, but my knee and foot are feeling really good and I’m confident with how the ball’s coming out.”
Boland emphasised that Australia are not panicking after the Perth defeat, but the home team will surely be under considerable pressure.
