A shockwave was sent through the Australian Test squad when a pair of seamers limped from a Sheffield Shield clash.
Josh Hazlewood has been cleared of a hamstring strain with Australia confident the seamer will be fit for the first Ashes Test after a nightmare day at the SCG.
Hazlewood and fellow Test squad member Sean Abbott both left the SCG for scans during NSW’s 300-run Sheffield Shield loss to Victoria, after feeling tightness while bowling.
The news was somewhat good for Hazlewood, who will fly to Perth and train as normal.
But Abbott’s chances of debuting this summer have taken a significant hit with a “moderate-grade” injury.
Australia had wanted their full bowling attack of Hazlewood, Mitchell Starc, Scott Boland and Nathan Lyon to feature at the SCG this week, before the Ashes begin next Friday in Perth.
With captain and pace ace Pat Cummins already missing the start of the series with a back injury, the last thing Australia needed were further injuries this week.
Australia’s stand-in captain Steve Smith admitted he began to fear the worst after Hazlewood told him he was feeling tightness at the end of his fourth over on Wednesday.
“I was like: ‘Get off the field, disappear, you’re done, go and figure it out’,” Smith said.
“Then it was what do we do with Starc? Do we just put him on ice completely?
“It’s hard when you’re playing in a game and you want to try and do well for your state as well. Then you’ve got an eye on, obviously next week.
“I was like, Boland, you can bowl one spell (for Victoria) and be done as well, that’ll be good. But he got through by the looks of things nicely, so that’s ideal.”
An injury-enforced Hazlewood omission would be a significant blow for Australia, who haven’t played without two of their ‘Big Three’ fast bowlers since December 2022.
If Hazlewood is a late scratching from the first Test it would likely result in a debut for Brendan Doggett.
Doggett has taken two five-wicket hauls since returning from a hamstring injury for South Australia and is one of the form bowlers in the country.
“He’s been bowling really well the last couple of games from what I’ve seen,” Cummins said of Doggett at a Cricket Australia NRMA sponsorship extension on Wednesday.
“He’s really well placed to be vying for a spot in that first Test. It’s always nice to have a squad full of people in form and he’s certainly one of those guys.”
Meanwhile, Cummins said he was feeling well after bowling at 90 per cent on Tuesday in the SCG nets.
He is a chance of playing in the second Test at the Gabba on December 4, but the third Test in Adelaide on December 17 could be more realistic.
“(The Gabba) is what we’re building towards,” Cummins said.
“Hopefully by Perth I’m up there near 100 per cent, and then see where we’re at.
“It’s still pretty aggressive, going from nothing to trying to get ready for a Test match in four weeks. But we’re going to give it a good shot.”
The injury scares could also place more importance on Cameron Green’s fitness for the first Test, and whether Beau Webster remains in the side as a second allrounder.
Green sent down eight overs in the first innings in Perth on Tuesday at good pace in what was his biggest bowling output in a match since back surgery last summer.
Webster also took eight wickets for the match in Tasmania’s Sheffield Shield loss to South Australia this week.
But he is fighting to keep his spot in the Test side as selectors consider going with specialist opener Jake Weatherald.
“It’s nice to have the options there if we feel we need to go down that path at all,” Smith said.
“We’ve got Greeny, who bowled well from what I’ve heard in their game. And Slug (Webster), who took five as well.”
The Vegas Golden Knights have recalled right-winger Braeden Bowman from the AHL’s Henderson Silver Knights. This is the first call-up of Bowman’s professional career. He earns it after a hot start to Henderson’s season. Bowman leads the club with seven goals, and is tied for the scoring lead with 12 points, through 12 games so far.
His first call-up to the NHL is a major milestone for the undrafted Bowman. He earned a minor-league contract with Henderson out of Vegas’ training camp in 2024, after four years with the OHL’s Guelph Storm. Bowman scored 14 goals and 36 points in 68 games of his rookie AHL season, enough to work his way onto the Silver Knights’ second-line. Vegas bumped Bowman’s minor-league deal up to a two-year, entry-level contract in March, making him eligible for an NHL call-up.
Bowman’s rookie-year growth gave him plenty of runway headed into this season’s training camp. He was a standout once again – flashing a sharp finishing ability, pro-level physicality, and quick hands. Those attributes continued to headline Bowman’s game through the first month of the season, and will now be recognized by Vegas with one more home game before a two-game road-trip.
Bowman could step into the lineup in place of center William Karlsson, who remained absent from practice on Wednesday, per Danny Webster of the Vegas Review Journal. Karlsson sustained a lower-body injury in Saturday’s loss to the Anaheim Ducks and has been designated as out day-to-day. Should that injury stick around, Bowman could earn his NHL debut in Thursday’s match versus the New York Islanders. He’d likely step onto the fourth-line, while Keegan Kolesar and Brandon Saad move up to fill Karlsson’s absence. Vegas could also deploy Alexander Holtz over Bowman. Holtz has no scoring through seven games this season.