Josh Hazlewood’s hopes of playing in the World Test Championship final remain in the balance as Australia waits to see how the seamer pulls up from a lengthy bowling stint.
Hazlewood is desperate to play his first match for Australia since early January, when he suffered side soreness in the IPL on return from an achilles-tendon injury.
The seamer has been back bowling at full tilt for close to a fortnight, and got through three separate spells in a centre-wicket session on Saturday.
Team staff will wait to see how he pulls up throughout Sunday, with the bowlers also due for a final training session on Monday before the clash with India begins at the Oval on Wednesday.
“He’s in the squad as it sits at the moment,” coach Andrew McDonald said.
“Like anything, we’ve had a main session, a lot of the assessments will be done post-main session and decisions will all flow from there.”
If the 32-year-old is fit and available, selectors will then need to make a call on whether to play him in the Test Championship final or stick with Scott Boland as third seamer.
Also on Australia’s mind along with Hazlewood’s fitness is the fact there are six Tests to be played in the next eight weeks, with limited gaps throughout the looming Ashes series.
Planning for the Ashes
“We have a Test Championship final to play, which we’re excited about. But if you look on the back of that, then we turn our attention quickly to England and the Ashes,” McDonald said.
“Yeah, there’s some short turnarounds there. That’s nothing that we’re not used to. There will always be considerations around management.
“There’ll be some plans sitting in the background, but like any Test match, you don’t know what’s going to happen within that Test match.
“Then you make decisions from that … I’d say there would be some moving parts in amongst the quicks.”
Beyond Hazlewood, Boland, Pat Cummins and Mitchell Starc, Australia also have Michael Neser and Sean Abbott as part of their training group.
After arriving in England on May 27, Australia spent initial days focusing on the Ashes in Formby before turning their attention solely to India during a training camp in Kent.
Australia have never played India in a Test on neutral soil before, but insist they are not walking into the unknown.
“If you look at a form reference for the way India play in England is probably when they play against England,” McDonald said.
“So there won’t be too many things that are unknown.
“We’ve tracked back through that, looked how India played against England here. What their bowlers did and how they use their bowlers.”
-AAP
