Hazlewood could play at Lord’s

James Pattinson will be rested for the second Test against England and given time to prepare himself for the third Test.

Josh Hazlewood bowls as James Pattinson looks at a nets session at Lord’s on Monday. Picture: Getty Images

James Pattinson will be rested for the second Test against England starting on Wednesday and given time to prepare himself for the third Test. The decision opens the door for either Josh Hazlewood or Mitchell Starc to play at Lord’s.

Hazlewood is almost certain to get the nod but if anywhere was to suit Starc it would be at this historic ground.

Australia has come to England clear in the knowledge that it is unlikely the pacemen can get through all five Tests in a fixture list that has been compacted by the World Cup.

Pattinson has been the most injury prone of the bowlers but his pace, experience and results when he has played English county cricket had him earmarked as the key man for the series.

He was not the pick of the bowlers at Edgbaston and coach Justin Langer speculated that he may have tried a little too hard, but he certainly performed well enough.

The team has decided it will be best to rest him and make sure he is fit to go for the third Test at Leeds with only a three days’ break between the two matches.

Pat Cummins holds his place, despite backing up from the World Cup, because he is the best bowler in the world and his seven wickets at Edgbaston made him the pick of the quicks.

His efforts on a flat track on the fifth day alongside Nathan Lyon helped swing the game and took him to 100 Test wickets.

“I felt like with each spell I got a little bit better and better,” he said. “I haven’t played a lot of red-ball [cricket] coming into the first day’s play, and I think just trying to find that tempo of Test cricket — it’s slightly different to white ball, and I think mixed into that the excitement and the nerves of a first spell in Ashes over here. I was pretty pumped up and felt probably by the lunch session I was into my work and pretty happy how I was going. Definitely by the end of the game I felt a lot better than that first spell.

“First Test I came in pretty fresh for that Test match and luckily we had a big break, so I knew that was the carrot at the end of the game that we were going to get 10 days off, so it was pretty easy to tear in that last day. I feel really good; [I] haven’t really done much in the last few days and [have] just build up nicely. I feel 100 per cent”

Peter Siddle only took two wickets at Edgbaston but his economy rate was the most miserly on either side and was the prime reason Langer rated his performance as probably the best of any bowler in the match.