The Sydney Test could come one week too soon for Josh Hazlewood who is reportedly set to be kept on the sidelines against England until the Ashes series finale.
Meanwhile, conditions in Sydney in the build-up to the third Test could also see Mitchell Swepson’s long-awaited debut pushed out even longer.
Scroll down for more in Ashes Daily!
Catch every moment of The Ashes live and ad-break free during play on Kayo. New to Kayo? Try 14-days free now.
‘WE’VE GOT TO FIND OUT’: The risk Australia takes in not making ‘brave’ Ashes call
HAZLEWOOD IN DOUBT FOR SYDNEY
Selectors will reportedly take a cautious approach over the return of Hazlewood from injury with the quick now unlikely to play in Sydney.
The Daily Telegraph reports that Hazlewood is set to be given an extra week to recover from a side strain that he suffered at the Gabba.
Hazlewood has returned to bowling in the nets — and reportedly did so well on Monday at the SGG.
Nonetheless, it was a shorter bowling stint compared to Mitchell Starc and Scott Boland, who is in a battle with Jhye Richardson to play in Sydney should Hazlewood be kept out.
Selectors will see how Hazlewood pulls up on Tuesday, while Steve Smith said the bowler himself will be trusted to give honest feedback on his fitness.
“I’m not sure how he’s pulled up or how he’s going,” Smith said after training at the SCG.
“I know the guys (selectors) have a lot of trust in him to make the right decision. He knows his body better than anyone and he’s played a lot of cricket now.”
The Daily Telegraph reports that the Hobart Test is a more logical comeback match for Hazlewood given he only suffered the side strain less than a month ago.
SWEPSON DEBUT LOOKING UNLIKELY
Mitchell Swepson is also looking like an unlikely starter for Australia at the SCG with Sydney conditions working against the leg-spinner, who is still searching for a Test debut.
Swepson was considered a strong chance to partner Nathan Lyon at the SCG — but only if the conditions were going to favour spin, as they often did in Sydney
But rain is forecast for Sydney this week, particularly on days one and two when up to 10mm of rain is being forecast.
Smith’s assessment of the wicket days out from the Test is that it looks like it will be green and not break up enough for the spinners.
“If it starts with a lot of grass on it, it seems to not break up that much. If they take all the grass off it has the ability to break up a bit more and the foot marks come into play a lot more,” Smith said.
“Looking at this wicket at the moment there seems to be a fair amount of grass. I dare say it won’t take too much spin late in the game, which was the old SCG that we used to see, and I would like to see.”
Australia is therefore expected to return to three specialist quicks — Starc, Pat Cummins and either Richardson or Boland — alongside Lyon.
This news is republished from another source. You can check the original article here