Aus vs Ind, BGT – Josh Hazlewood likely to miss rest of India series with calf strain

Hazlewood was late entering the field at the start of play on Tuesday, having spent time talking with head coach Andrew McDonald and physio Nick Jones, then looked laboured when he came into the attack, barely topping 131kph which included a wide long hop first ball that was cut away by KL Rahul.

During the drinks break which followed that over, Hazlewood was part of a lengthy conversation with Pat Cummins, Steven Smith and the physio before he walked off the field.

Cricket Australia initially confirmed he had “calf awareness” and he went for scans which confirmed the severity of the injury.

“Josh Hazlewood has sustained a right sided calf strain which will prevent him from playing any further part in Test match against India in Brisbane,” an further CA statement said. “He sustained the injury during the warm-up this morning and after bowling one over was unable to continue. He is likely to miss the remainder of the Test series. A squad replacement will be made in due course.”

Brendan Doggett and Sean Abbott have been part of the squad in this series, when they were initially called up as cover in Adelaide after Hazlewood was ruled out, and would likely head the queue of replacements.

Australia are trying to force victory between frequent rain delays in Brisbane and will now have to rely on Cummins, Mitchell Starc and Nathan Lyon for the majority of the overs with support from Mitchell Marsh, Travis Head and Marnus Labuschagne.

The follow-on is their best chance of securing victory but that will put extra strain on Starc and Cummins.

“[We told him] it’s about preparing for the MCG because there’s a good chance we might need you,” he said. “History suggests there’s always some form of natural attrition throughout a Test series. A good thing [is], he’s probably played a Test earlier in the series than he maybe thought. Showed that his standard’s still super high. [It’s] about trying to set him up for the last two Test matches.”

Hazlewood previously suffered a mild calf strain earlier in the year which kept him out of the T20Is against Scotland and England. The Perth Test against India was his 10th consecutive match following a frustrating couple of years where he was hit by a series of injuries while also being left out due to conditions on the subcontinent. Overall, Hazlewood has missed 18 of Australia’s last 35 Tests dating back to the 2021-22 Ashes.

Speaking between the Adelaide and Brisbane Tests, Hazlewood said the side problem had been a frustrating injury and the medical staff were still trying to come up with a long-term solution.

“It’s not necessarily your typical side strain, which I’ve had a couple in my career,” he said. “You’re running into bowl and you just grab your hat and you’re off and you’re out for six weeks. It’s not that sort of side strain. It’s from sort of repetitive use. It’s caused me a lot of trouble over the last few years, but [had] perfect prep this year, and played the Shield game and ticked all that off.

“I was very happy where I was and it still happened. So I was pretty annoyed there for a few days. There was plenty of meetings from CA’s point of view [with] physios, doctors, all that stuff. So come up with a few options and see if we can stop it from happening again.”