Border-Gavaskar Trophy: Josh Hazlewood ruled out of first Test, Scott Boland likely to be drafted in
Australia seamer Josh Hazlewood has been ruled out of the upcoming first Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Nagpur, opening the door for Scott Boland, who could also be making his maiden appearance in an overseas Test.
Hazlewood, who suffered an Achilles injury on his left leg while bowling in Sydney Test against South Africa last month, confirmed that he is yet to recover and also remains a doubtful starter for the second game in Delhi.
“Not sure about the first Test. It’s still a few days away, but it’s sneaking up quickly. Second one is obviously straight after as well. So, we’ll play it ear over the next week and next few days and hopefully Tuesday goes well,” Hazlewood was quoted as saying on Sunday Cricbuzz.
“Just a bit of workload management at the moment. Just managing the Achilles. I was bowling a fair bit leading into the tour at home and sort of just pushing up against it. Probably wasn’t recovering as well as I would have liked between each session so thought we’d give it a few days here straight of the bat and try and get over the hump and have a bowl from Tuesday on (in Nagpur) and hope it goes well,” he added.
Meanwhile, Boland, who has played only six Tests so far, will have a chance to debut in the sub-continent and share the new ball with Cummins. He was also spotted having a go with the new ball during match-simulation drills at Alur on Sunday.
Hazlewood also backed Boland to deliver if he happens to replace him in the series opener.
“Scotty has bowled plenty at the MCG when it was a flat wicket, it probably wasn’t swinging or reverse swinging so he knows how to work hard for a long period of time,” Hazlewood said.
“You’ve got Lance Morris who has worked hard on reverse swing for the last month and then a nice lead-in here with a few sessions.
“The guys are excited first of all to play in the subcontinent, they both haven’t yet, but they’re very well qualified to do so,” he added.
