Josh Hazlewood cleared of fitness concerns but Abbott ruled out of Test

Josh Hazlewood cricket action

Josh Hazlewood has taken 295 international wickets with an average of 24.21 runs per wicket in 76 Tests

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Hazlewood received clearance to become part of Australia's squad ahead of the opening Ashes match post-injury worries, however, teammate Sean Abbott has been ruled out

Both suffered hamstring issues during their match for NSW versus Victoria during Sheffield Shield action on Wednesday

Scans showed the 34-year-old Hazlewood did not sustain a muscle strain. The 33-year-old Abbott, yet to debut, has a significant hamstring issue

Captain Pat Cummins will miss the initial match, commencing later this month, meaning the absence of another experienced fast bowler such as Hazlewood would have been a major blow

The bowler stood unlikely to play at the Perth match, as Hazlewood prepares to team up Starc and Boland as the specialist seamers

Cummins, currently healing from a back injury, is expected to be scheduled to reappear during the next Test beginning December 4 in Brisbane

Batter Steve Smith will captain the side while Cummins is out

Following other Aussie squad members, Hazlewood participated in the current round of state games building up to the England series

Prior to recently, he had not played a first-class match representing NSW in more than a year

He experienced stiffness in his posterior chain during the final stages of Victoria's second innings during the match and left the field for safety reasons

The two bowlers batted in the follow-on innings during their defeat in a substantial margin

"We have one week before the international cricket - always err on precautionary measures," said Cummins

"The medical staff sought to identify the nature of the problem before pushing it and potentially making anything worse"

"He seldom shows him cheerful, therefore it was positive to see him smiling"

"He knows his body really well. I think he was somewhat concerned (seeking to obtain it checked out"

Abbott earned 57 caps for Australia in limited-overs formats

The uncapped Brendan Doggett represents additional pace options among the selections, acting as backup for Starc, Boland and Hazlewood

Paul Thomas
Paul Thomas

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