Hazlewood pushes out Boland at the Gabba as Cummins plans Rishabh bouncer barrage

Brisbane: Josh Hazlewood has pushed out Scott Boland for the crucial Gabba Test against India after missing just one game with a side strain, as Australian captain Pat Cummins plots a possible bumper barrage for Rishabh Pant and India’s tail.

Short bowling in Adelaide allowed the Australians to knock over India’s lower order cheaply in both innings, and tellingly provided the first signs of vulnerability in Rishabh’s otherwise irrepressible and aggressive batting method.

Josh Hazlewood has proven his fitness to the selectors and will play at the Gabba.Credit: Getty Images

It was here at the Gabba in 2021 where Rishabh humbled Cummins, Hazlewood and Mitchell Starc in a virtuoso performance to deliver India both the match and the series.

But his first innings dismissal in Adelaide, to a snorting short ball from Cummins, created a previously unseen element of doubt in the left-hander’s mind – he was then a little hesitant coming forward to Starc in the second innings and edged one to Steve Smith in the slips.

“It is always in the back of your mind as a bit of a plan B or, if it’s looking really uncomfortable and likely to take wickets, it becomes a plan A to some of the batters,” Cummins said.

“It worked in Adelaide, so I’m sure we’ll give it a shot at some stage. For the tailenders it looked like a wicket was very likely, so yeah.”

In addition to 2021, the Australians will also want to banish memories of January, when Shamar Joseph single-handedly delivered victory for the West Indies in the final Test of last summer.

India’s battling captain Rohit Sharma was a no-show for his team’s optional training session on match eve. That left media duties to Shubman Gill, who had little to say other than that the skipper wanted his batters to compile a big first innings total.

Josh Hazlewood bowled away from the rest of his teammates at Allan Border Field in Brisbane on Thursday.Credit: Tom Decent

Cummins confirmed Hazlewood’s readiness for the third Test, after he had an extended practice bowl at Allan Border Field on Thursday afternoon following a rapid relocation from the team’s main session at the Gabba.

Cummins revealed he decided to stop Hazlewood from bowling in the second innings of the Perth Test, even after the 33-year-old had said he felt “OK” while managing the side issue. As it was, Hazlewood ended up bowling 21 overs for the innings, as opposed to 26 and 25 for Starc and Cummins.

“It was later on in that second innings, and [it’s] fair to say I probably thought the game was starting to slip away – we needed six or seven wickets and were about 400 behind,” Cummins said. “We’ve seen a few times when Joshy has pushed through to get through a Test match and a little bit of soreness turns into a month-or-two injury.

“So, we made the call then that it 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, and I just thought, ‘Yeah that’s enough’.”

Hazlewood had earlier stated that Cummins recognised the need to protect him from bowling too much after he became sore in Perth, allowing for a more rapid recovery.

“It’s not necessarily your typical side strain, which I’ve had a couple [of] in my career,” Hazlewood said. “You’re running in to 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 [I had a] 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 and stuff from CA’s point of view – physios, doctors, all that stuff. So [we had to] come up with a few options and see if we can stop it from happening again.”

Boland, who took four cheap wickets against South Africa in his only previous Gabba Test, will be in contention to return to the team for the MCG Test on Boxing Day. Cummins said it was difficult to tell Victoria’s all-time leading first-class wicket taker he was out of the side but expected he would be called up again before the five-match series was over.

In contrast to Boland’s cult hero status at the MCG, Hazlewood’s record at the ground is relatively underwhelming – he’s almost half as effective there as at other Australian grounds, with 16 wickets from seven matches to date, at an average of almost 40 and a strike rate pushing a wicket every 100 balls.

“It’s tough,” Cummins said of Boland. “He was fantastic in Adelaide and unfortunately spent quite a lot of time on the bench over the last 18 months, and whenever he plays he’s fantastic.

“So [it’s] a shame for Scotty but [there is] still a fair bit to play out in this series, so I’ll be surprised if he doesn’t have another crack at some point.”

The pitch

Two days of fine weather in Brisbane have allowed the surface to lose its earlier verdant green look, although the surface will still offer plenty for seam bowlers. “I don’t think it is as green and leafy as it was against South Africa,” Cummins said of the two-day Test at the Gabba in 2022.

The weather

Brisbane has experienced heavy rainfall in recent months and showers are forecast for every day of the Test. How much and when, though, remains to be seen.

Teams

Australia: Pat Cummins (capt), Usman Khawaja, Nathan McSweeney, Marnus Labuschagne, Steve Smith, Travis Head, Mitchell Marsh, Alex Carey, Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon, Josh Hazlewood.

India (possible): Rohit Sharma (capt), K.L. Rahul, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Ravichandran Ashwin, Jasprit Bumrah, Harshit Rana, Mohammed Siraj.

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