Australia are expected to get a boost in the form of fast bowler Josh Hazlewood returning to the playing eleven to make the home team’s pace attack even more penetrative going into the third Test in Brisbane, beginning on Saturday.
Hazlewood sat out of the pink-ball Test in Adelaide because of a side strain and his return to the nets at the Gabba on Thursday was keenly awaited by the media that had gathered there.
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But much to the surprise of the reporters, the right-arm pacer was whisked away dramatically, accompanied by fellow pacer Mitchell Starc and assistant coach Daniel Vettori in a black car. He just had a brief fielding session and did some batting at the Gabba nets.
It later came to light that the team management decided to have him bowl at the Allan Border Field to prove his fitness, away from the media glare.
The Sydney Morning Herald reported that Hazlewood “boosted his chances of returning to the Australian team for the third Test in Brisbane after completing an impressive off-site training session during which he bowled off his full run-up”.
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Australia lost the first Test of the series in Perth by 295 runs, but despite losing Hazlewood for the pink-ball match in Adelaide, the hosts managed to pull off an impressive 10-wicket win inside three days to level the five-Test Border Gavaskar Trophy at 1-1.
The defeat pushed India from No. 1 to 3 in the World Test Championship (WTC) table, while Australia moved to the top of the standings, followed by South Africa.
India need to win at least two of the remaining three Tests to stay in contention for a place in the WTC final.
The WTC final is contested between the teams finishing as No. 1 and 2 at the end of the two-year cycle.
