Good news for Australia as key pacers step up recovery ahead of 2nd Ashes Test vs ENG
Hazlewood and Cummins step up their recovery as they return to bowling ahead of the second Ashes Test.
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Josh Hazlewood and Pat Cummins have made significant progress in their recoveries, returning to bowling ahead of the second Ashes Test, which starts on December 4. Both fast bowlers had missed the opening Test in Perth, which Australia won by eight wickets. Their return to training has boosted hopes of a stronger pace attack for the upcoming matches.
The duo was seen bowling at Cricket Central in Sydney while New South Wales were facing Tasmania in a Sheffield Shield game. Hazlewood is working his way back from a hamstring injury, while Cummins has been recovering from a back issue. During the training session, Hazlewood used the red ball and Cummins bowled with the pink ball, signalling preparation for different match conditions.
Australian head coach Andrew McDonald shared updates on both players. He confirmed that Hazlewood will definitely feature at some point in the series. Regarding Cummins, McDonald said he is progressing well but the team will be careful not to rush him. The coach stressed that they want to avoid pushing Cummins too quickly and risking further injury.
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"I know that he'll be available at some point during the series. We've got a little bit of that early rehab to go through to formulate where he may plug into the series, but we expect him to take some part in the series. It looked like a player that was nearing the completion of his rehabilitation. The intensity was there, the ball speed was there. There's a lot of positives, but now it's just really building that resilience within the soft tissue and making sure that we're not putting him in harm's way in terms of accelerating it too much," stated McDonald, as quoted by ESPNcricinfo.
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While Cummins has a chance of returning for the pink-ball Test, Hazlewood is expected to be fully available from the third Test onward. If both return, Scott Boland and Brendan Doggett are likely to make way despite their strong performances in Perth. Mitchell Starc was the standout bowler in the first Test, taking a 10-wicket match haul and earning Player of the Match for his exceptional effort.
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