Josh Hazlewood bowled near top pace at Adelaide Oval today during a lengthy examination of his recovery from a side strain but admits it will be a further 24 hours before he can fully gauge his availability for the upcoming third Test.
On what should have been day four of the second Border-Gavaskar Trophy Series match in Adelaide, Hazlewood was the solitary player in action on the centre wicket as he went through a couple of sustained spells.
He was looking to replicate match conditions and the demands they place on his body, before fully cooling down and going again to prove he is able to complete multiple bowling stints in the course of a Test-match day.
Should he be given the all-clear to play in the third Test starting at the Gabba on Saturday, selectors will be forced to choose between the regular Australia new-ball spearhead and his replacement in Adelaide Scott Boland who returned match figures of 5-105.
“I think it’ll be how I pull up in the 24 hours following it really,” Hazlewood said when asked what loomed as the most important result from today’s fitness assessment.
“It’s just that repetitive (action) and obviously two spells makes a big difference.
“Cooling down pretty much fully and then going again in the same day, and the intensity has got to be right up there as well.
“So a few boxes to tick, but it’s probably the 24 hours that follow and pulling up again the next day and then thinking ‘yeah, I’d be right to go again if I had to’.”
The 33-year-old missed Australia’s 10-wicket win that was completed within seven sessions at Adelaide because of the minor side injury he sustained during the opening NRMA Insurance Test in Perth.
Hazlewood claimed his history of side injuries stretching back over recent years has proved both a frustrating curse given his stints on the sidelines, but also something of a blessing in that he now readily recognises the first signs of any problem.
He missed all but the first Test of the most recent home Ashes campaign in 2021-22 because of the issue, which flared again at the start of the following summer and once more prior to the World Test Championship final against India in the UK last year.
The problem is as much structural as it is muscular, with the right-armer having previously revealed he has to contend with a smaller-than-usual gap between the bottom of his rib cage and hip bone which can compound the risk of muscle impingement.
Hazlewood indicated the current injury is of such low-grade he could have pushed himself to play if the Adelaide Test had been the last of the summer, but added that would likely have meant another lengthy stint on the sidelines in its aftermath.
“It’s not necessarily your typical side strain, which I’ve had a couple in my career,” he said of his most recent setback.
“It’s caused me a lot of trouble over the last few years, but perfect prep this year (heading into the first Test).
“I played the (Sheffield) Shield game and ticked all that off and I was very happy where I was and it still happened, so I was pretty annoyed for a few days.
“If this (Adelaide) was the last Test of the summer, I could have potentially run the gauntlet and played.
“I think I would have been in a pretty bad state by the end of the game, even though it was only a short game but it just wasn’t quite right.
“I’m very well aware of the area, and how the feelings are and what sort of pain it is, and how I can get through sessions, and what that means.
“I guess that makes my decisions a little bit easier, and I know what I can get through and what I can’t and if I’m ready or not.
“That experience is the positive in this regard.”
The need for prudent management of bowling stocks was compounded by the potential for a tight turnaround of just three days between the Adelaide and Brisbane Tests.
However, the dominance of Australia’s seamers at Adelaide Oval meant they were able to capture all 20 India wickets while sending down 81 overs, with spinner Nathan Lyon needed to deliver just one of those.
The completion of the Test before the first session break on day three also ensured the teams earned an additional two and a half-days break before play begins at the Gabba, with Australia likely to have a full complement of pace bowlers from which to pick.
Australia boasted a formidable record at the Gabba – where they were undefeated from 1989 – until 2021, when India’s historic three-wicket win saw them retain the Border-Gavaskar Trophy they have held since 2017.
And last summer Pat Cummins’ team suffered a shock eight-run loss to lowly-ranked West Indies in a day-night fixture which Hazlewood attributed to the rapid deterioration of the pink ball on the more abrasive Gabba surface.
He believes the return to red-ball cricket for the third Test will suit Australia, and cited the switch in sleeping patterns after a couple of late night finishes in Adelaide as perhaps the biggest challenge ahead of players.
“We always play pretty well in Brissy (but) the last Test was obviously pink ball,” Hazlewood said.
“The pink ball gets quite soft in Brisbane quite early on, with the wicket being quite hard, it doesn’t have that thatch grass that we see here at Adelaide.
“So we’re back to the red ball there, which I think suits us.
“We obviously haven’t won recently up there, but it’s a place we like to play.
“It suits our guys.
“It’s an experienced team, so we’ve all been there a lot of times.
“It’s probably more just the time difference – the going from day-night and sleeping in – to your sleeping patterns, getting that adjusted and getting back on track.”
NRMA Insurance Men’s Test Series v India
First Test: India won by 295 runs
Second Test: Australia won by 10 wickets
Third Test: December 14-18: The Gabba, Brisbane, 11.20am AEDT
Fourth Test: December 26-30: MCG, Melbourne, 10.30am AEDT
Fifth Test: January 3-7: SCG, Sydney, 10.30am AEDT
Australia squad (for second Test): Pat Cummins (c), Sean Abbott, Scott Boland, Alex Carey (wk), Brendan Doggett, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Mitch Marsh, Nathan McSweeney, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Beau Webster
India squad: Rohit Sharma (c), Jasprit Bumrah (vc), Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Devdutt Padikkal, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant, Sarfaraz Khan, Dhruv Jurel, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Siraj, Akash Deep, Prasidh Krishna, Harshit Rana, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar. Reserves: Mukesh Kumar, Navdeep Saini, Khaleel Ahmed, Yash Dayal
