Josh Hazlewood remains a chance to play in the World Test Championship final after Australia included the seamer in the 15-man squad to face India.
Under ICC regulations, Australia were forced to cut their 17-man squad for the first half of the England tour down to 15 for the Championship final on June 7 at the Oval.
Hazlewood had been under some doubt to make the squad, after he flew home from the Indian Premier League early this month with a side issue.
However, Australia still consider him some chance to play and have included him in the group along with fellow quicks Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc and Scott Boland.
(Photo by Jason McCawley – CA/Cricket Australia via Getty Images)
Hazlewood’s inclusion means there was no need for selectors to bring Michael Neser or Sean Abbott into the squad as cover, with both still able to train with the team in the lead up.
Neser had loomed as a genuine option, having shown great form for Glamorgan in county cricket this year.
In comparison, Hazlewood has struggled for consistent time on the field and has been limited to four Tests for Australia since December 2021.
Mitch Marsh and Matt Renshaw are the two men to not be named in the 15-man squad for the ICC event.
Both will still be available for selection for the Ashes Test at Edgbaston on June 16,
Regardless, Renshaw’s omission is also the strongest indication yet that Marcus Harris is the preferred back-up option for the top of the order if the under-pressure David Warner does not survive the tour.
India’s squad remains unchanged from the one that was named by the No.2-ranked side in the world last month.
World Test Championship final squads
AUSTRALIA: Pat Cummins (capt), Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Cameron Green, Marcus Harris, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Todd Murphy, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, David Warner.
INDIA: Rohit Sharma (capt), Shubman Gill, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, KS Bharat, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Shardul Thakur, Mohd. Shami, Mohd. Siraj, Umesh Yadav, Jaydev Unadkat, Ishan Kishan.
Stokes gets Brearley stamp of approval
England’s most successful Ashes captain, Mike Brearley, is amazed by the transformation the team has undergone with Ben Stokes as skipper.
The all-rounder has revolutionised the Test side with 10 wins from 12 matches since taking over from Joe Root when England were at one of their lowest ebbs following the 4-0 Ashes rout in Australia and a 1-0 series defeat in the Caribbean to the West Indies.
Brearley, who led England to 11 wins from 15 Ashes Tests including the unforgettable 1981 series, told the UK Daily Mail that Stokes had done remarkably well in partnership with coach Brendon McCullum.
“I’m astonished that it could happen so dramatically and so quickly,” he said. “I’m full of admiration for him.”
Ben Stokes. (Photo by Stu Forster/Getty Images)
Brearley, a psychoanalyst who became president of the UK Institute of Psychoanalysis after this playing career, believes Stokes has a clear perspective on cricket following his well-documented court case for assault in 2018.
“I think with his father’s death and his court case and probably other things, he’d become depressed. Well, he said he had.
“I wondered if it was a sort of new lease of life which has a very slightly manic quality to it. I’m not saying he’s bipolar or manic, but I’m saying there’s a trace of it. It’s slightly gung-ho. But the important point is it is only a game, and it’s one game at a time.”
Ashes countdown: Days to go …
18
The number of runs that England won by in the original “Miracle of Headingley” in 1981 when Ian Botham blasted a magnificent 149 not out and Bob Willis took 8-43 as Australia were bowled out for 111 chasing a target of 130, losing after enforcing the follow-on.
On This Day …
May 29 – the venue for the 2023 Ashes series opener, Edgbaston hosted its first Test in 1902. Johnny Tyldsley top-scored with 138 as the home side posted 9-376 before declaring and then routing Australia for 36 before rain saved the tourists at 2-46 on the third and final day of the Test.
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