The Ashes 2025-26: Josh Hazlewood to take ‘some part’ in series against England, coach Andrew Macdonald says
Australia expect Josh Hazlewood to take “some part” in the Ashes despite speculation hovering over the severity of the star quick’s hamstring injury.
Hazlewood missed the first Test win in Perth after hurting himself playing for NSW in the Sheffield Shield.
Australia haven’t provided an update on the 34-year-old since he was ruled out of the Ashes opener more than a week ago.
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By continuing you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy.Coach Andrew McDonald believes Hazlewood won’t miss the whole series despite him being constantly weighed down by injuries in recent years.
Hazlewood played just two of the five Border-Gavaskar Trophy Tests last summer, then didn’t travel to spin-dominated Sri Lanka in January.
“He’s working through the first week of his rehab,” McDonald on Monday said of Hazlewood.
“I’m not sure that we need to give an update on that.
“Once he gets further down the track and have some rough timelines, then we’ll be in a position to communicate that.
“I know that he’ll be available at some point during the series.
“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.”
Captain Pat Cummins is closing in on a return for the second Test, building up his bowling in the nets as he comes back from a back stress injury.
Cummins on Saturday admitted he feared at one point he may miss the whole Ashes.
But the pace ace has been pulling up well from extended training sessions and could be brought back to further rattle England at the Gabba.
“For those who saw him (Cummins) in Perth - I did say this a while back, that he will be up and bowling in Perth, and people will be sitting there questioning why he’s not playing,” McDonald said.
“That was what presented to us.
“It looked like a player that was nearing the completion of his rehabilitation.
“The intensity was there, the ball speed was there.
“So there’s a lot of positives there, but now it’s just really building that resilience there, and making sure that we’re not putting him in harm’s way in terms of accelerating it too much.
“But it will be a genuine discussion leading into this Test match, and that may be one that eventuates late for us.”
