Australia’s Josh Hazlewood was cleared of injury Friday to reunite with fellow pace spearheads Pat Cummins and Mitchell Starc for the crunch third Test against India in Brisbane. The five-match series is finely poised at 1-1 after the visitors won the first game in Perth by 295 runs before crumbling to a 10-wicket defeat with the pink ball in Adelaide. Hazlewood took five wickets in Perth but picked up a side strain that ruled him out of the next clash. Scott Boland performed admirably in his place, but it was not enough to save him.
“Josh Hazlewood comes back. He’s had no hiccups, he had a really good bowl yesterday and a couple of days previous,” skipper Cummins told reporters. “Him and the medical team are super confident.”
There are no other changes for the Test starting Saturday.
Cummins admitted it was hard to leave out Boland, but suggested he could still play a part in the series.
“It’s tough, he was fantastic in Adelaide,” he said of the 35-year-old seamer, who bagged five wickets in the match.
“He’s unfortunately spent a fair bit of time on the bench over the past 18 months. And whenever he’s played, he’s been fantastic.
“A shame for Scotty, but still a fair bit to play out this series. I wouldn’t be surprised if he doesn’t get another crack at some point.”
The Gabba used to be a fortress for Australia, who were unbeaten there since 1988 until India finally breached it in 2021 to clinch their four-Test series 2-1.
Australia won their next two Tests in Brisbane, against England and South Africa, but were upset again earlier this year by the West Indies.
Cummins played down the significance of results at particular venues.
“It’s just a venue really. We play at dozens and dozens of venues each year,” he said.
“It’s always good coming back to a place that is familiar. As a player you can look back at times where you might have scored runs or taken wickets,” he said.
“But the scoreboard starts at 0-0 so the venue isn’t the be-all-and-end-all.”
Australia’s Playing XI: Nathan McSweeney, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Steve Smith, Travis Head, Mitchell Marsh, Alex Carey, Pat Cummins (capt), Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon, Josh Hazlewood
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