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How to tune into Sport NationThe Ashes 'front-runner' to replace the injured Hazlewood
SEN • November 16th, 2025 12:48 pm
Australia’s Ashes side has taken yet another blow, with fast bowler Josh Hazlewood being ruled out of the first Test with a hamstring strain.
After initial scans suggested that the 34-year-old avoided any muscle damage, follow-up tests detected a more severe injury, with Cricket Australia officially stating that Hazlewood would not travel to Perth to take part in the first Test against England.
Joining Pat Cummins and Sean Abbott on the sidelines for the Perth Test, Hazlewood’s absence will mark yet another glaring omission from the side’s bowling unit, with Michael Neser added to the travelling squad as pace reinforcement.
That said, Cricket analyst Bharat Sundaresan expects that Neser won’t be selected to play in Perth, with Australia likely to hand the vacant spot to Brendan Doggett.
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“The fact that Doggett was picked in the squad ahead of Neser, and I do think purely in terms of what Doggett brings with the ball, he’s been ready for Test cricket for a couple of years now,” Sundaresan told SEN SA.
“Yes, Michael Neser has played two Test matches, but I just feel Doggett is there. We saw what he did in the Shield final, and if we look at the last three games he’s played – 10 wickets in the Shield final, six wickets in his first game this season and then the five-wicket haul this week.
“You won’t find a fast bowler readier to take the step up, so I think they will go with him. Neser being added to the squad with Sean Abbott injured… I always thought it would come down to Neser or Abbott if Mitchell Starc goes down, just to add some weight with the bat as well, but I do think Doggett is the front-runner.”
As Pat Cummins looks to stagger his appearances over the course of the series due to ongoing back concerns, Sundaresan believes that the hampered Australian side may no longer be the favourites to retain the Ashes.
“I think it’s 50/50 to be honest. Not having Cummins was (already) a big blow for Australia,” he said.
“(Hazlewood) was bowling like an absolute genius. I’ve rarely seen a fast bowler in better form than what he has been in. In that white ball series against India, and even in the Shield game this week… and then he goes down.
“It didn’t sound good when he didn’t come back to the field after the lunch break, and we heard that, ‘maybe it’s not that serious’, but we just had a bad feeling about him because he’s had such a bad run of luck with injuries.
“He seems to be available for the rest of the year, but he has just had terrible luck. It’s a huge blow, to have two of your best – especially Hazlewood in the form that he has been in – (go down).”
With England’s top order settled and in good stead heading into the series, Australia’s weakened bowling attack will give the English plenty of confidence heading into the Perth Test.
“Not only do you now have Mitchell Starc having to be the muscle and be the strike bowler and the senior operator – yes, he has Scott Boland alongside him – but it just feels like a bowling attack that England will try to dominate,” Sundaresan continued.
“You know they are going to go after Boland, whatever the conditions. Maybe Boland will benefit from that, but now they have another new-ish bowler, whether it’s Neser or Doggett, to target as well.
“England will fancy themselves, and the other way to put it is that this is the best chance they’ve had in a long time to take an early lead in the series and hurt Australia.”
The first Test between Australia and England begins on November 21 at Optus Stadium. Catch every ball of the Ashes on the Sport Nation app via SEN.
