Australia’s Hazlewood unlikely to be fit for half of WC, says Cummins

Australia fast bowler Josh Hazlewood may not return to action until halfway through the T20 World Cup, injured team-mate Pat Cummins said on Tuesday.

Hazlewood, arguably the squad’s most important bowler, has struggled with hamstring and Achilles injuries, and missed the entire five-Test Ashes series against England. He will remain in Sydney to continue his recovery.

Australia head coach Andrew McDonald said in mid-January that Hazlewood was on track to be fit for the squad’s World Cup opener against Ireland on February 11 but Cummins’ update was less optimistic.

“I caught up with Joshy a couple of days ago and he’s working so hard. I really feel for Joshy, he’s had a few setbacks, (he’s) one of the hardest trainers,” Cummins told Australian broadcaster Nine Network.

“He’s doing everything he can. I don’t think he will be there for the start of the tournament, but he’s trying his best to be there about halfway through.”

With Mitchell Starc having retired from the format and Cummins sidelined with back problems, Australia head into the February 7-March 8 World Cup undermanned and in poor form following a 111-run humiliation by Pakistan, which completed a 3-0 series whitewash.

Cummins said players’ late arrival to Pakistan after the domestic Big Bash League had not helped.

“It wasn’t the series we were hoping for,” he said.

“It’s always better when you’re winning, but they’ll shake that one off pretty quickly.”

Cummins, who played only one Test of the Ashes due to lumbar bone stress, said he had run out of time to be fit for the World Cup squad.

“We wanted to give the back a little rest to make sure it’s right for what’s going to be a big rest of the year,” he said.

“Minor setback, I should be right to go in a few weeks.”

Cummins will hope to lead Sunrisers Hyderabad in the Indian Premier League which starts on March 26.

Cummins is now hopeful of returning to competitive action during the Indian Premier League (IPL) in March, but stressed that his main focus is being fully fit for a busy test calendar later in the year.

Australia has a packed schedule ahead, with home Tests against Bangladesh, an away series in South Africa, followed by multiple matches against New Zealand and India before the current World Test Championship cycle ends. “We thought the first half of the year was a pretty good time to be conservative with the amount of cricket that’s coming up. We’ll get it right, then hopefully that will mean you won’t have to worry about it, and you can just go out and play all those Test matches,” he explained.

“Whereas, if you’re not careful with it now and it flares up, you’re chasing your tail a bit,” Cummins added. Despite missing the World Cup, Cummins backed Australia to perform strongly in the tournament. He said the recent T20I series loss to Pakistan does not reflect the true quality of the squad. “It wasn’t our greatest few games (in Pakistan), but the guys are coming off a strong Big Bash, and a couple of guys are coming back from injury for the World Cup,” Cummins said. “Morale is good. Chatting to a few of the boys from afar... they know how big it is, they’re desperate to get started and get into it,” he added.

Agencies