In a disheartening turn of events for the Australian cricket team, fast bowler Josh Hazlewood has been ruled out of the highly anticipated WTC final 2023 against India starting on June 7, due to his ongoing Achilles and side issues.
Hazlewood’s absence comes as a blow to the team’s plans. But the selectors have swiftly moved to fill the void by including Michael Neser in their 15-player squad for this week’s ICC WTC final 2023 against India at The Oval. With this, it is a good chance for Scott Boland to make a place in the playing XI. Neser has played two Tests and two ODIs for Australia.
“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.” Chair of Selectors George Bailey said.
BREAKING: Josh Hazlewood has been ruled out of the World Test Championship final – Michael Neser replaces him in Australia’s squad#WTC23 #WTCFinal pic.twitter.com/ZvvTULuywq
— ESPNcricinfo (@ESPNcricinfo) June 4, 2023
Josh Hazlewood, known for his accuracy, swing, and ability to extract bounce from the surface, has been an integral part of the Australian bowling attack. He has been battling injury since he departed his stint with the Royal Challengers Bangalore early during the IPL 2023. In this season, he played only 3 matches and after that, Hazlewood did not play any matches. After that, Australia has decided to take no risks with the right-armer ahead of a busy upcoming schedule. Hazlewood is one of the best players of Australia and his exit is a big blow for the team.
Also Read: Sourav Ganguly returns as commentator in the WTC Final 2023
“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. 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.” Bailey added.
Significantly, Josh Hazlewood has played 59 Test matches for Australia. During this time he has taken 222 wickets in 111 innings. At the same time, he has taken 108 wickets in 69 ODIs and 58 wickets in 41 T20 matches. On the other hand, talking about IPL, he has taken 35 wickets in 27 matches.
Updated Australian squad for the WTC Final 2023:
- 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
Standby players:
- Mitch Marsh
- Matthew Renshaw
