Josh Hazlewood has been cleared to join Australia’s squad for the first Ashes Test against England after an injury scare, but fellow pace bowler Sean Abbott has been ruled out.
Both suffered hamstring injuries playing for New South Wales against Victoria in the Sheffield Shield on Wednesday.
Scans showed Hazlewood, 34, did not sustain a muscle strain. The uncapped Abbott, 33, has a “moderate grade” injury.
Captain Pat Cummins is out of the first Test, beginning on 21 November, so the loss of another established pace bowler in Hazlewood would have been a major blow.
Abbott would have been unlikely to play in Perth, with Hazlewood set to join Mitchell Starc and Scott Boland as the specialist seamers.
Cummins, who is recovering from a back injury, is thought to be on track to return for the second Test in Brisbane starting on 4 December. Batter Steve Smith will lead Australia in Cummins’ absence.
Like many of the Australia players, Hazlewood is involved in the current round of Sheffield Shield matches in preparation for the Ashes.
Before this week, he had not played a first-class match for New South Wales in more than a year.
He felt tightness in his hamstring towards the end of Victoria’s second innings on Wednesday and left the field as a precaution. Neither Hazlewood nor Abbott batted in New South Wales’ second innings as they lost by 300 runs.
“We’re a week away from the Test series – always err on the side of caution,” said Cummins.
“They wanted to find out what was happening before pushing it and potentially making anything worse.
“It’s rare to get him chipper, so it was good to see him smiling.
“He knows his body really well. I think he was a little bit worried (and) wanted to get it checked out. I only saw him briefly, but he was a bit happier afterwards.”
Abbott has won 57 caps for Australia in white-ball cricket.
The uncapped Brendan Doggett is the other seamer in the squad, providing cover for Starc, Boland and Hazlewood.