Australia pacer Josh Hazlewood has been cleared of any major injury, while Sean Abbott has been ruled out of the series opener due to a “moderate grade hamstring injury.”
Both Hazlewood and Abbott were sent for medical scans after pulling up sore on day three of New South Wales’ Sheffield Shield match against Victoria. Neither of the seamers, who had bowled nine overs, returned to the field after lunch on Wednesday afternoon.
Hazlewood, a key member of Australia’s pace attack for the Ashes opener in Perth in the absence of injured skipper Pat Cummins, underwent precautionary scans which cleared him of any muscle strain.
“He will train as planned in the lead-up to the first Test in Perth,” a Cricket Australia (CA) spokesperson said.
Abbott, however, suffered a “moderate grade” strain to his left hamstring and “will not be available for selection” for the first Test in Perth. “His return-to-play plan will be developed over the coming weeks,” the CA spokesperson added.
Australia’s Test captain Pat Cummins has already been ruled out of the first match against England due to a back issue, while Lance Morris and Spencer Johnson are also sidelined with injuries.
Cummins, who was in Sydney on Wednesday, said Hazlewood appeared in good spirits after his scan. “I was at the SCG. There was a bit happening there for an hour or so,” Cummins said at a CA event announcing major sponsor NRMA.
“Both had scans. I haven’t got 100 per cent across all the details, but I think Joshy was pretty chipper when he got out. Hopefully he should be fine. Seany, I’m not so sure about — I think they’re still assessing.
“They were hamstrings. Obviously, a week away from the Test series, you always err on the side of caution, so I think they wanted to see what was happening before pushing it and potentially making it any worse.
“Hopefully not too much disruption. Again, we’ll wait and see how it comes out over the next 24 hours. I think Joshy was pretty confident when he walked out, so hopefully it shouldn’t cause too much of an issue.”
— IANS