Josh Hazlewood to miss Ashes remainder, Pat Cummins's return imminent

KARACHI: Australia's experienced pacer Josh Hazlewood has been ruled out of the Ashes remainder due to an Achilles issue, while captain Pat Cummins is set to make his long-awaited return in the third Test, coach Andrew McDonald confirmed on Tuesday.

Hazlewood, who last represented Australia in the home white-ball series against India in October this year, missed the first two fixtures of the ongoing blockbuster series against England due to a hamstring strain.

The 34-year-old will not take part in the Ashes remainder as he has now picked up an Achilles injury.

McDonald shared that Hazlewood's rehabilitation will now focus on him getting ready for the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2026, scheduled to be co-hosted by India and Sri Lanka from February 7 to March 8.

"Unfortunately, Josh won't be a part of the Ashes. Really, really flat for him. A couple of setbacks that we didn't see coming, and we thought he would play a huge part in the series," McDonald stated.

"It's a totally separate injury. It's somewhere lower in the calf to Achilles region. His preparation will then shift towards the World Cup, which is an incredibly important campaign for us," he added.

Meanwhile, in a positive development for the hosts, McDonald shared their captain Cummins was "ready to go" for the upcoming Adelaide Test, stressing there were no concerns over the 32-year-old heading into the fixture despite being out of action since July due to a lumbar bone stress injury.

"His body's ready to go and barring anything else happening in the next week, I'd be expecting Pat to be tossing the coin and putting the blazer on," McDonald said.

"There won't be any match opportunities for Pat, and this is something we've done with Pat before, off long layoffs, where we've put some time and effort into rebuilding his body.

"He was out at Allan Border Field, whilst everyone was out at the Gabba. So he simulated pretty much what a match will look like out there with multiple spells. So we feel as though he'll be as best prepared as he can be."

For the unversed, despite the unavailability of the senior pace duo, Australia dominated arch-rivals England in the first two Tests, winning both fixtures thumpingly by eight wickets, to lead the five-match series 2-0.

The third Ashes Test will be played in Adelaide from December 17 to 21 and will be a must-win fixture for the Ben Stokes-led England.