Josh Hazlewood ruled out of WTC final; Neser named replacement

In what has come as a huge development ahead of the World Test Championship final at the Oval in London, Josh Hazlewood has been ruled out of the final despite looking full bit threatening in the nets session. Cricket Australia have named Michael Neser as the replacement for the ace pacer.

But with impressive Scott Boland in the squad, he might get the nod to be in the Playing XI ahead of Neser, with Pat Cummins and Mitchell Starc leading the pace attack. Hazlewood’s left Achilles issue flared up with the Indian Premier League and with Ashes in mind, Cricket Australia have decided to exercise caution.

“Josh was very, very close to being given the green light but we are cognisant that our upcoming schedule means this is not a one-off Test match of us," Chair of Selectors George Bailey said.

“Michael’s County form has been strong and knowing that he was going to be close by allowed for him to keep playing and for us to be able to call on him. He is a great strength to have as part of the fast bowling group.

“This will give Josh an ideal preparation leading into Edgbaston. With six Test matches in a little over seven weeks, we will need all of our fast bowling assets.”

While Australia are focused on winning the World Test Championship, coach Andrew McDonald suggested that the Ashes 2023 is as important, which demands player workload. The Ashes 2023 will begin on June 16 in Birmingham. "Definitely consideration for (the schedule) - we don’t want to go too far ahead," McDonald told reporters.

"We’ve got the WTC final to play, which we are excited about, but on the back of that we have to quickly turn our attention to England and the Ashes. There are short turnarounds there. That’s nothing we’re not used to. So, there’ll always be considerations around management … I’d say there’d be some moving parts amongst the quicks."

Australia squad: Pat Cummins (c), Scott Boland, Alex Carey (wk), Cameron Green, Marcus Harris, Travis Head, Josh Inglis (wk), Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Todd Murphy, Michael Neser, Steve Smith (vc), Mitchell Starc, David Warner