Body blow: Hazlewood out of India series with calf problem

Brisbane: Josh Hazlewood has effectively been ruled out of the rest of the Test series against India due to a calf strain, leaving him at a career crossroads.

Two car journeys away from the Gabba just days apart had devastatingly different outcomes for the Australian paceman.

Two days before the third Test began, 33-year-old Hazlewood and Mitchell Starc were whisked away to Allan Border Field for the bowling session that confirmed Hazlewood’s return to the team after missing the Adelaide Test with a side strain.

Josh Hazlewood dismissed Virat Kohli on day three.Credit: Getty Images

But on the fourth morning of a rain-strewn match, Hazlewood was driven by team security manager Frank Dimasi to a Brisbane sports medicine clinic where scans confirmed he had suffered a right calf strain in morning warm-ups. Hazlewood’s single, ginger over of Tuesday morning will now almost certainly be his last for the Test summer.

After holding an impromptu conference on the field with captain Pat Cummins, deputy Steve Smith and team physio Nick Jones, Hazlewood then accompanied Jones to the boundary and headed for further assessment of the issue, which came hot on the heels of the side strain.

Tuesday’s issue was not a recurrence of the earlier injury, evidenced by the sight of a glum-looking Hazlewood emerging from a Brisbane sports medicine clinic with a compression sleeve around his right calf on Tuesday afternoon.

“He’s pretty despondent,” assistant coach Dan Vettori said. “He felt it this morning in warm-ups and gave it a good crack, but it’s unfortunate for him to come back, put so much effort in after another injury with a side strain from the last Test and then pick up a calf injury here, particularly in these circumstances, was really tough on him.”

Victorian Scott Boland, who subbed in for Hazlewood in Adelaide, will now almost certainly return to the side for the MCG match, where he enjoys a handsome record in Tests.

“Boland speaks for himself,” Vettori said. “The way he bowled in Adelaide, he’s consistently been the back-up seamer, and every single time he’s been asked to step up, particularly in Australia he’s been outstanding. So I think that would be the logical thing to conclude.”

Boland spent time in the nets on day four, bowling to fellow squad member Beau Webster. Sean Abbott and Brendan Doggett, the two pace bowlers who were added to the squad when Hazlewood was ruled out of Adelaide, may also be pulled out of the Big Bash League as cover.

“Josh Hazlewood has sustained a right side calf strain which will prevent him from playing any further part in the NRMA Insurance Test match against India in Brisbane,” a team spokesperson said on Tuesday afternoon.

“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.”

Hazlewood’s history of injury problems is getting increasingly hard to shake. The impact of his side strain in Perth was reduced because Cummins lowered Hazlewood’s workload once he reported soreness, and there were similar conversations in Brisbane.

Hazlewood has played just 16 of Australia’s past 34 Test matches, and missed cricket with an assortment of side, Achilles and calf issues over the past couple of years.

Australia still consider Hazlewood one of the finest fast bowlers in the world. He returned match figures of 5-57 in Perth.

But it is a concern that Hazlewood is struggling to stay on the park, especially in a season in which the hosts are missing the all-round abilities of Cameron Green. Mitchell Marsh’s bowling has been a modest substitute, while Nathan Lyon is yet to have an impact on the series.

Australia had toyed with the idea of enforcing the follow-on if they could bowl India out quickly enough on day four, but India’s tailenders batted them past that mark late before stumps was called early due to bad light.

In turn, the tourists’ chances of getting to Melbourne with the series still tied at 1-1 have increased considerably.

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