Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood Ruled Out of Pakistan Tour
Aug 9, 2018 at 12:14 PM
Australia will miss the services of their fast bowlers Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood on the Pakistan tour. Both the pacers are out due to their respective injuries.
Cricket Australia confirms the duo hasn’t had enough bowling to be match fit. Australia will tour Pakistan adopted home venue, UAE in October.
Australia’s woes continue to manifold.
Therefore, the loss of both the talisman fast bowlers is a huge blow to the Australian side. Consequently, Mitchell Starc will be the only first-choice fast bowler in the Australian line-up. Meanwhile, Australia has touched new lows after their ignominious defeat against South Africa.
Both Josh and Pat haven’t fully recovered from lumbar bone stress. Australian team’s physiotherapist David Beakley confirmed the news.
“Pat and Josh are progressing well from their lumbar bone stress injuries but are not bowling, so, unfortunately, they will not be at the level required for Test match intensity come October,” Beakley said.
Meanwhile, Bearly is hopeful that both fast bowlers will return to action in the end stages of the JLT One-Day Cup. Therefore, they should be up and running for the white ball series against the Proteas.
“Barring any setbacks, we are hopeful that Pat and Josh will return via the back-end of the JLT One-Day Cup, with the aim of them being available for the ODI Series against South Africa in November as they build towards the Indian Test Series.
“On a positive note, Mitchell Starc is back to unrestricted training and remains on track for the Test Series against Pakistan.”
Australia already doesn’t have the services of Steven Smith and David Warner. Therefore, they will want their pace battery to be fit and firing at all cylinders. Consequently, the Australian team management will hope for a speedy recovery of both Josh Hazlewood and Pat Cummins.