Sydney, Feb 6: Australia’s T20 World Cup campaign suffered a major setback after veteran fast bowler Josh Hazlewood was ruled out of the tournament due to a hamstring injury.
Hazlewood, 35, has not played competitive cricket since sustaining a hamstring injury during the Sheffield Shield on November 12. Despite being named in Australia’s initial World Cup squad, the fast bowler remained in Sydney while the rest of the team assembled in Sri Lanka earlier this week, as per Cricket Australia.
With just five days remaining before Australia’s opening group-stage match against Ireland in Colombo, national selector Tony Dodemaide confirmed that Hazlewood would not recover in time.
“We were hopeful Josh would be back to match fitness by the Super Eights stage, but the latest indications are he is still some time away,” Dodemaide said. “Trying to accelerate his program will carry too much of a risk.”
Dodemaide added that Australia will not immediately name a replacement. “We feel we are well covered for the initial games and will make any later decisions based on priority need at the time,” he said.
Hazlewood’s absence compounds Australia’s pace concerns, with captain Pat Cummins already ruled out of the ICC event, while Mitchell Starc retired from T20 Internationals last year.
Currently, right-arm seamer Xavier Bartlett and left-armer Ben Dwarshuis are the only fully fit frontline fast bowlers in the squad. Sean Abbott is travelling as a reserve and could be added later as Hazlewood’s replacement if required.
Hobart Hurricanes skipper Nathan Ellis is progressing in his recovery from a hamstring injury but remains doubtful for Australia’s tournament opener on February 11. Cricket Australia confirmed that Ellis and batter Tim David are “on track to be available for the group stage,” while leg-spinner Adam Zampa has been cleared to face Ireland.
Given the expected conditions in Sri Lanka, Australia is likely to adopt a spin-heavy approach early in the tournament. Zampa, Matthew Kuhnemann, and Cooper Connolly are the primary spin options, supported by all-rounders Glenn Maxwell and Marcus Stoinis.
Despite the setbacks, captain Mitch Marsh expressed confidence in the squad’s depth.
“We’ve been able to build a lot of depth within our squad, and the guys that have come in have played a lot of cricket for our group,” Marsh said. “We’ll pick teams based on the conditions, but we feel we’ve got all bases covered.”
Australia entered the World Cup after a challenging build-up, having suffered a 3-0 series defeat to Pakistan, while their final warm-up match against the Netherlands in Colombo was washed out without a ball being bowled.
Australia squad: Mitch Marsh (captain), Xavier Bartlett, Cooper Connolly, Tim David, Ben Dwarshuis, Cameron Green, Nathan Ellis, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Matthew Kuhnemann, Glenn Maxwell, Matthew Renshaw, Marcus Stoinis, Adam Zampa. Travelling reserve: Sean Abbott.
Australia suffer blow as Hazlewood misses T20 World Cup
