The veteran lanky pace bowler for Australia, Josh Hazlewood, who missed the previous day-night Test match of the Border Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) 2024-25 at the Adelaide Oval due to side strain, has earned his way back into the side for the vital third encounter at the Gabba in Brisbane. He enjoyed an excellent opening week in Perth for the first game, picking up five wickets in the game.
Pat Cummins, the captain of Australia, has confirmed it as the only change of the side as Scott Boland, despite taking five vital scalps across two innings in the pink-ball affair, makes his way out.
The New South Wales fast bowler, Hazlewood, underwent a couple of fitness tests during this week. Bowling with short run-ups in the Gabba nets with no spare center wickets available, the fast bowler decided to move to Allan Border Field on Thursday (December 12) to have full-speed bowling alongside Mitchell Starc, under the supervision of Australia’s bowling coach, Daniel Vettori.
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“He’s had no hiccups. He had a really good bowl yesterday and a bowl in Adelaide a couple of days previous. The medical team is super confident.” Cummins expressed this in the press conference on the eve of the game.
Fit-again Josh Hazlewood replaces Scott Boland for Australia
Hazlewood has enjoyed bowling at the Gabba, with 37 wickets in 16 innings at an average of under 24 and a strike rate of 52.16 with the best of 5/57 in an innings. He will join Starc and Cummins, who have 47 scalps at 28.93 and 40 wickets at 18.22 in the five-day format at this venue.
The lone spinner of the side, Nathan Lyon, who bowled just one solitary over in their 10-wicket victory to label the series at 1-1, is the third leading wicket-taker in the venue with 51 wickets at an average of around 28.
It means that the Victorian fast bowler Boland, who averages under 14 in Australia in the longest format, will be spending time under the shades, but Cummins expects the former to play a big role in the final two games of the series. There could be a debate about the horses-for-courses selection ahead of the four Boxing Day Tests at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) where the former made his debut in the Ashes 2022 and picked up a stunning 6 for 7, before getting overlooked against Pakistan in the previous season.
“It’s tough (leaving him out), he was fantastic in Adelaide. Unfortunately, he spent quite a bit of time on the bench over the last 18 months, and whenever he plays, he’s fantastic. Shame for Scotty, but still a fair bit to play out in the series so, I’d be surprised if he doesn’t get another crack at some point.” Pat Cummins shed light.
Before the fourth game, Australia will have a chance to get a nice break for around a week besides enjoying Christmas, but the tracks at the MCG, which tend to support the superb line and length bowlers, make it easier for them always.
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“It’s about preparing for the MCG because there’s a good chance we might need you. History suggests there’s always some form of natural attrition throughout a Test series. A good thing [is], he’s probably played a Test earlier in the series than he maybe thought. Showed that his standards are still super high.” The Australian captain highlighted.
The eyes are also on Steve Smith in the batting department who based on their poor performances, has been out of the top ten in the ICC ranking for the first time in a decade.
Australia Playing XI For 3rd Brisbane Test vs India
Nathan McSweeney, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Steve Smith, Travis Head, Mitchell Marsh, Alex Carey (wk.), Pat Cummins (c), Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon, Josh Hazlewood.