3 minute read
Josh Hazlewood says he will try to bowl again on Tuesday as he recovers from the side strain that has sidelined him for a second Ashes Test.
Injured Australian paceman Josh Hazlewood remains unsure when he will be back in the Test side.
Hazlewood is sitting out his second Ashes Test because of the side strain he suffered in Brisbane.
He hopes a net session during the Boxing Day Test will shed more light on his potential return to the Australian XI.
"I'm still a little bit away, (this Test) is probably a week early," Hazlewood told SEN pre-game.
"We're still not sure, we're going to take this week as it comes and likely have a bowl on day three or day five, see how that goes and then build up from there.
"The workloads are still there from the first Test, but obviously I haven't had a bowl in 10-12 days and we'll see how it goes on day three.
Hazlewood gave more detail about his injury, saying it is different to the usual fast bowler's side strain.
"It's probably more on feel this one, it's a bit of an interesting one, it's the intercostal, so it's in between the ribs, there's a slight tear," he said.
"I've never had it before, I've had the normal oblique side strain ... but we're taking each day as it comes and we'll make the decisions on basically how I feel."
He presented Scott Boland with his baggy green cap on Sunday morning and while rapt for his Test debut, Hazlewood is frustrated to miss the biggest Test of the domestic summer.
"I guess once you're down here, you see the ground and the crowd starting to roll in, it's pretty disappointing," he said.
"The same thing with last week at Adelaide, I love being there and not being able to go and watching it on TV, it was disappointing."
But the debuts of Boland and Michael Neser and Jhye Richardson's successful return have all highlighted the strong depth of the Australian pace battery.
"It's obviously been forced a little bit. I would have loved to have played the same attack again - well, in my opinion," he joked.
"But it's obviously a blessing in disguise to get a couple of guys out there, make their debuts, and see Jhye come back last game and bowl beautifully.
"So we have some great depth."