Truth behind Josh Hazlewood and Mitchell Starc being whisked away from the Gabba for secret session

It appeared as though Josh Hazlewood was being taken to a secret location to test his body, but the truth behind his and Mitchell Starc’s Gabba exit was considerably less exciting – but it may prove crucial to the Brisbane Test’s XI. Watch the video here.

Josh Hazlewood was whisked across Brisbane midway through Australian training on Thursday but got through a 45-minute bowl in front of selection chair George Bailey and bolster his chances of featuring in the third Test.

Seeking to prove his fitness after missing the second Test because of a side strain, Hazlewood batted in the Gabba nets before abruptly leaving the session in a van alongside Mitchell Starc before either quick had bowled.

Though it briefly appeared as though Hazlewood was being taken to a secret location to test his body without prying eyes, the truth was considerably less exciting.

Hazlewood and Starc preferred to bowl in the nets adjacent to Allan Border Field where the run-ups are longer than in the Gabba nets.

Josh Hazlewood throws the ball during a training session at The Gabba on Thursday. Picture: Getty Images

The squad’s spare batter Josh Inglis and Queensland Bulls player Lachlan Hearne faced Starc and Hazlewood in the nets with Bailey watching on closely alongside bowling coach Daniel Vettori and Cricket Australia’s national teams boss Ben Oliver.

A final decision on Hazlewood is unlikely to be made until he is assessed by team physio Nick Jones on Friday however there was nothing from Thursday’s session to suggest he wasn’t ready to bowl in a Test on Saturday.

Should Hazlewood be cleared to play, Scott Boland is the man who will be omitted. The Victorian bowled in the Gabba nets on Thursday, as did Pat Cummins and all-rounder Mitch Marsh, who appears to have overcome the soreness that plagued him in the lead-up to the second Test.

Scott Boland will be omitted if Josh Hazlewood is cleared to play. Picture: Getty Images

Spare bowler Sean Abbott was unsighted at the session but fellow quick Brendan Doggett remains with the group, as does all-rounder Beau Webster.

The Aussies were also joined on Thursday by left-arm spinner Matt Kuhnemann, who played three Tests in India last year and is in the frame to be part of the squad that tours Sri Lanka early next year.

Kuhnemann has not strictly been added to the squad but like fellow spin contenders Corey Rocchiccioli and Todd Murphy, he has been afforded time with Vettori ahead of the Sri Lanka tour.

Marsh said before training that Hazlewood’s demenour had not changed during his absence.

“The great thing about Josh is he’s very level character. He’ll do everything he can to get up for the game and then it’s up to the leadership group and the selectors to tick that one off,” Marsh said.

Marsh completely dismissed the idea that Austalia would drop spinner Nathan Lyon to instead play four specialist quicks.

Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon and Pat Cummins at training on the Gabba on Thursday. Picture Lachie Millard

“I’m fairly certain Gaz (Lyon) will play,” Marsh said.

Boland impressed in Adelaide in what was his first Test in 17 months.

“Just feels like something’s going to happen with Scotty,” Aussie batter Travis Head said after day two in Adelaide.

“He’s been high quality his whole Test career. We said that at the start of the week it’s nice to have someone like him being ready to go. He can come back in, and you know the impact he’s going to have. He’s taken some huge wickets for us. The hill was going mad for him. [He’s] a hugely important guy for us in the squad: he’s a great person, boys absolutely love him, the public love him. Whenever he does get a chance, you can’t be happier for him.”