Hazlewood to replace Boland in Brisbane, confirms Cummins

Australia pacer Josh Hazlewood, who missed the Adelaide Test due to a side strain he had suffered in Perth, will be back for the third match of the series in Brisbane, with Scott Boland making way. Australia skipper Pat Cummins stated that Hazlewood has no issues, and the medical team is confident of his fitness.

"He's had no hiccups," Cummins said in the pre-match press conference. "He had a really good bowl yesterday and a bowl in Adelaide a couple of days previous. The medical team are super confident."

Speaking on how Hazlewood suffered the injury, Cummins said, "It was later on in that second innings," said Cummins. "Fair to say we probably thought the game was starting to slip away. We still needed six or seven wickets and we were about 400 behind. We've seen it a few times where Josh has pushed through to get through a Test match and a little bit of soreness turns into a month or two of injury.

"So we made the call then that it probably wasn't worth the risk of keeping him bowling. I think he bowled an extra two overs leading into a tea break and he said it felt ok, but I just kind of thought from there, 'that's enough'."

That would, however, mean the impressive Scott Boland, who picked up five wickets in Adelaide, would be subbed out of the Test. Boland has been incredible in home Tests, scalping 33 wickets in just seven matches at an average of 13.54. Hence, Cummins feels that it’s not the end of the road for the Victoria pacer as he expects him to play a role in the five-match series.

"It's tough [leaving him out], he was fantastic in Adelaide. Unfortunately, he spent quite a bit of time on the bench over the last 18 months, and whenever he plays, he's fantastic. Shame for Scotty, but still a fair bit to play out in the series, so I'd be surprised if he doesn't get another crack at some point.

"It's about preparing for the MCG because there's a good chance we might need you. 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 standards are still super high. [It's] about trying to set him up for the last two Test matches."

With the series tied at 1-1, Australia have a chance to break free and take a lead in Brisbane, where they have an incredible record. However, India would want to take inspiration from their heist at the same venue last time they were in Australia for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. 

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