Josh Hazlewood, Pat Cummins join forces in nets as Ben Stokes & Co. panic in Ashes
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Australian speedsters Josh Hazlewood and Pat Cummins, the pace bowling duo, were seen in the nets in Sydney as the focus turned to the second Ashes Test at the Gabba in Brisbane.
Though Mitchell Starc and Scott Boland gave a tough time to the English batters in Perth, it was still evident that they missed Cummins and Hazlewood running in with the red ball. When Mitchell Starc is trioed with Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood, oppositions are often intimidated just by their presence.
Australia have an early lead in the series and will advance to Brisbane for a Day & Night game. Mitchell Starc once again boasts a great record with the pink ball, and if Josh Hazlewood returns, Australia can be the heavyweights again.
Josh Hazlewood returns to the nets after injury
Some positive signs for Australia, as the premium fast bowler Josh Hazlewood returned to the nets on Tuesday following his exit with a hamstring injury. He was seen training at Cricket Central in Sydney alongside his injured skipper.
Even Andrew McDonald was confident that Josh Hazlewood would be available later in the Ashes and is already on his route to recovery.
"I know that he'll be available at some point during the series," he said. "We've got a little bit of that early rehab to go through to formulate where he may plug into the series, but we expect him to take some part in the series," confirmed the Australian head coach.
Pat Cummins was spotted bowling with the pink ball
Meanwhile, Australian skipper Pat Cummins was recently spotted with the pink ball, which indicates that he might be preparing for the D&N Test at the Gabba in Brisbane. This might stage his return since the injury.
Pat Cummins made some stunning progress behind the nets as he looked impressive in Perth, and the selectors will need to be fully confident that he can manage his workload required for a Test match. However, the early signs indicate that the matches in this series may not go to their full stretch of 5 days of action.
"It looked like a player that was nearing the completion of his rehabilitation," McDonald said. "The intensity was there, the ball speed was there. There's a lot of positives, but now it's just really building that resilience within the soft tissue and making sure that we're not putting him in harm's way in terms of accelerating it too much," the Australian head coach added.
Australia's pace reinforcement options during the Ashes
The Test matches of the Ashes are well spaced until the Adelaide Test. The day and night elements have been thrown into the mix in Brisbane. Considering the injured pacers, Xavier Bartlett has come up in the mix to replace players.
Michael Neser was a spare pace bowler in Perth in Josh Hazlewood and Cummins' absence. Bartlett has already impressed in ODIs and T20Is and is likely to queue up for the longest format of the game. The selectors have also spoken with Jhye Richardson, who can be an option after his return from shoulder surgery.
Richardson bowled 2 overs in the Australia A vs England Lions game at the Lilac Hill in Perth. "This game was a lot about physical preparation for me and making sure that we can get through," Richardson told reporters after the CA XI outing.
"It's a decent hit out, the most overs I've bowled in a while, and it's all part of the process to build up to be ready for four- and five-day cricket," the Australian cricketer added.
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Australia National Cricket Team England National Cricket Team Australia vs England England vs Australia Josh Hazlewood Pat Cummins The Ashes
