It is, unfortunately, sad news if you are a fan of the Australian team, as Josh Hazlewood has been ruled out of the entire Ashes series after picking up an injury in November, which prevents him from taking any risks. Now the question is who will be the bowler to replace Josh in the third test match, as Australia already leads 2-0, and a draw would be enough for them to retain the Ashes again. Scott Boland may also be rested, the Australian coach McDonald has announced
The first day of the third Ashes test is the 17th of December 2025, whereas the last day would be the 21st of December 2025. Basically, the Adelaide Oval will be the venue for the same, as the live action starts at 11 AM local time, whereas it will be 5 AM as per Indian Standard Time. From here on, each match is a possible do-or-die game for England if they want to win the Ashes.
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Josh Hazlewood ruled out of the entire Ashes series: Who will replace him?
Josh Hazlewood, one of the best bowlers in the Australian team, is as important as Mitchell Starc, and captain Pat Cummins is out for the entire Ashes series, as McDonald confirms. It was November when, during a Sheffield Shield, Josh got an injury in his Hamstring. He suffered an Achilles injury during his recovery. The coaching staff thought he was also bowling well and could be seen in action in the upcoming test, but now it does not seem possible, as his summer is over.
As Australia already has a 2-0 lead in the series, they would not want to take a risk and miss the upcoming important ICC tournaments. McDonald also spoke about him going for his recovery plan as they need Josh Hazlewood anyway for the ICC T20 World Cup, which takes place in 2026. The T20 World Cup is scheduled to start from the 7th of February in India and Sri Lanka.
He will be out of the series and his preparation will then shift towards the (T20) World Cup (in 2026), which is an incredibly important campaign for us
But unfortunately Josh won’t be a part of the Ashes. It’s really flat for him. A couple of setbacks we didn’t see coming. We thought he’d play a huge part in the series. We really feel for him that he won’t get that opportunity.
McDonald also spoke about the chances of captain Pat Cummins returning to the Australian squad for the Adelaide test. This will only be the change that we will see in the squad. There are also huge chances that Scott Boland is rested as Australia would want him ready for the Boxing Day test at Melbourne, which starts on 26th December. Pat Cummins and Nathan Lyon can be the changes in the playing eleven.
