Ashes diary: Josh Hazlewood in doubt, James Bracey’s hundred and Pigeon puts his foot in it

Will Macpherson12 December 2021

England lost the opening Ashes Test a day early, but that does not mean nothing is going on.

Here’s Standard Sport’s man on the ground Will Macpherson’s Ashes diary:

No chances

It seems increasingly likely that Australia will not have Josh Hazlewood in their XI for the Second Test in Adelaide. At the Gabba, he suffered a “very minor side strain”, bowling just eight overs on day three before returning to take Jos Buttler’s wicket.

Side strains, however minor, are not the sort of injury you want to risk messing with, especially with a bowler as brilliant as Hazlewood.

Australian media report that Hazlewood flew from Brisbane to Sydney today, meaning he won’t be with the squad in Adelaide tomorrow. Fox reported he was “dressed in plain clothes”, suggesting that the absence of team kit ruled him out of the Test.

Cricket Australia moved quickly to state that Hazlewood had flown to Sydney but had not yet been ruled out of the Test.

Still, with James Pattinson retired, it seems likely that Jhye Richardson will make an Ashes debut in Hazlewood’s place, or perhaps Michael Neser will make his Test debut in Adelaide.

Both are very able; Neser has caused the Lions trouble with seven wickets this week, and looks a likely fit in the relentless aggressor role that Hazlewood would vacate. Richardson might be more of a strike option, like Mitchell Starc. Either way, Cameron Green’s emergence as a frontline seamer helps plenty.

Lions’ pride

A hat tip to James Bracey, who made a defiant century in England Lions’ defeat to Australia A in Brisbane. The Lions had been dominated on days two and three of this first-class match, but at least put up a fight on the last.

Bracey made 113 from 295 balls at No3, including stands of 66 with opener Rob Yates (41), 95 with Josh Bohannon (51), and 111 with Ben Foakes (73).

This is reward for Bracey after a tough year in which he was thrown into the Test side against New Zealand as a keeper-batter, and floundered. He clearly remains an able cricketer, though, and should be well-placed if some of the Lions are kept on to work with the Test side for the remainder of the tour.

Saqib Mahmood went wicketless in the match and is off to play in the Big Bash (he would be available to England, still), while Matt Parkinson, Liam Norwell or Matthew Fisher might have caught England’s eye.

“There hasn’t been a huge amount of talk about that,” said Bracey, when asked if he thought players could be promoted from the Lions to the Ashes.

“It’s a big squad, the Ashes squad, and there’s a few batters waiting in the wings. It’s not been a huge thing at the forefront of our mind. But if it’s now, or in later years, it’s great to put a case forward in a Lions Test, and to get a hundred was really pleasing.”

James Bracey defends against Australia A
Getty Images

Taking a view

Watching on at Ian Healy Oval on the final day were Ashley Giles, England’s Director of Cricket, and Mo Bobat, the performance director.

Speaking of Bobat, there were some eyebrows raised inside and outside the England camp about why he chose to go to the Test match on Saturday, rather than watch the Lions, given the “pathway” is his remit.

The Lions tour ended up falling a little flat, with all the rain in Brisbane meaning the players spent time kicking their heels, rather than warming the main squad up.

Pigeon puts his foot in it

Glenn McGrath is famous for putting his foot on it (in this case, a ball) in an Ashes warm-up. Now the great man has put his foot in it in an Ashes warm-up. In his Mail on Sunday column, Stuart Broad recounted an entertaining tale about McGrath coming for a chat before play on day one, and congratulating him on a 150th cap that was not to be.

“Despite the disappointment [of being left out],” wrote Broad. “I did see the funny side of things when seconds before the toss, Glenn McGrath approached me and shook my hand between high catches I was practising on the outfield.

“‘Congratulations on 150, mate, it’s a special effort, have a great game,’ he said. I thanked him but had to tell him I wasn’t in. An awkward moment but one which raised an embarrassed smile and a chuckle.”

McGrath was not alone in being surprised at Broad’s omission.

Whitewash to whitewash

McGrath eventually delivered his customary 5-0 Ashes prediction before the Test, and he’s one-fifth of the way there. His old skipper Ricky Ponting, arguably the only truly elite pundit in Australia, is already seeing signs that a whitewash could be on the cards.

“The conditions are only going to get better for Australia. The conditions [in Brisbane] were very English-like,” he told cricket.com.au.

“There was more pace and bounce but as far as their bowling is concerned, they’re probably not going to get that much movement anywhere else for the entire series.

“If they don’t win in Adelaide then there could be shades of 2006/07.”

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in