Adelaide, Dec 9: Australia pacer Josh Hazlewood, who is recovering from a side strain, bowled two full spells at Adelaide Oval on Monday and said how he “pulls up” in next 24 hours will determine his availability for the upcoming third Test against India.
On what would have been the fourth day of the pink-ball Test, which Australia won by 10 wickets, the 33-year-old Hazlewood bowled through two sessions to simulate match conditions and assess his readiness for the third Test, set to begin in Brisbane on Saturday.
“I think it’ll be how I pull up in the 24 hours following it really,” Hazlewood, who missed the second Test, told reporters.
“It’s just that repetitive (action) and obviously two spells makes a big difference. Cooling down pretty much fully and then going again in the same day, and the intensity has got to be right up there as well.
“So a few boxes to tick, but it’s probably the 24 hours that follow and pulling up again the next day and then thinking ‘yeah, I’d be right to go again if I had to’,” he added.
The veteran pacer who has a history of side issues, however, said the recent one was a minor injury, adding that had the Adelaide Test been the last of the summer, he could have pushed himself to play.
“It’s not necessarily your typical side strain, which I’ve had a couple in my career.
I’ve ticked every box so far this week. The side’s obviously been a troublesome area for me, in the past, so if I can lean on the side of caution, I guess a little bit, (I’ll do that),” Hazlewood said.
“But it’s very minor compared to the last few I’ve had. I played the (Sheffield) Shield game and ticked all that off and I was very happy where I was and it still happened, so I was pretty annoyed for a few days.
“If this (Adelaide) was the last Test of the summer, I could have potentially run the gauntlet and played.
“Obviously (we have) got Scotty (Boland) there, who does a fantastic job every time he plays. So I guess that sort of makes the decision a little easier. Sometimes you’ve sort of got to be pretty much 100 percent to play. And if not, Scott is there (and ready) to go,” he said.
If Hazlewood is declared fit, Scott Boland will make way for him in the playing XI. (PTI)
