Hazlewood cleared of fitness concerns however Abbott ruled out of Ashes Test

Josh Hazlewood cricket action

The bowler has claimed 295 international wickets with an average of 24.21 during his 76-Test career

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Hazlewood received clearance to link up with the Australian team ahead of the opening Ashes match post-injury worries, but fellow pace bowler Sean Abbott is unavailable

Both suffered hamstring issues while representing New South Wales against Victoria in domestic cricket recently

Scans showed the 34-year-old Hazlewood escaped tissue injury. The 33-year-old Abbott, yet to debut, sustained a moderate-level injury

Captain Pat Cummins will miss the initial match, beginning on 21 November, so the loss of a key pace option like Hazlewood would have been a major blow

Abbott was doubtful to feature at the Perth match, as Hazlewood prepares to team up Starc and Boland as the specialist seamers

Cummins, who is recovering from a back injury, is expected to be scheduled to reappear for the second Test in Brisbane starting on 4 December

Top-order player Smith will captain the side while Cummins is out

Following other the Australia players, Hazlewood participated in the current round of state games in preparation for the Ashes

Prior to recently, he hadn't featured red-ball cricket representing NSW in more than a year

He noticed discomfort in his hamstring during the final stages of the opposition's batting recently and was substituted taking preventive measures

Neither Hazlewood nor Abbott came out to bat during their team's second batting effort during their defeat in a substantial margin

"There's seven days until the Test matches - we consistently choose being cautious," stated the captain

"They wanted to find out the nature of the problem before pushing it and possibly causing the injury more severe"

"It's rare to get him cheerful, therefore it was positive to see him smiling"

"He knows his body thoroughly. It seemed he felt slightly anxious (seeking to obtain it checked out"

The bowler collected 57 appearances with the national team in ODI and T20 cricket

The yet-to-debut the pace bowler is the other seamer within the team, acting as backup for the main pace trio

Emily Brown
Emily Brown

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