Colombo, Sri Lanka – Australia’s T20 World Cup campaign has suffered a significant blow with the confirmation that fast bowler Josh Hazlewood will miss the tournament due to ongoing Achilles issues. The news comes less than a week after Pat Cummins was also ruled out, leaving the Australian attack depleted ahead of their opener against Ireland on .
Hazlewood’s absence marks the first time since that Australia will enter a men’s World Cup without any of its established ‘Big Three’ pace bowlers – Hazlewood, Cummins, and Mitchell Starc – a rare circumstance for the cricketing powerhouse. The 35-year-old has not played since November, struggling to overcome a hamstring strain initially sustained during a Sheffield Shield match, which was then complicated by Achilles soreness.
Despite being included in the original squad, medical assessments indicated Hazlewood wouldn’t be able to meet the demands of the tournament. “We were hopeful Josh would be ready by the Super Eights, but the latest medical advice suggests he still needs more time,” Australia selector Tony Dodemaide said. “Pushing him now would carry unnecessary risk.” Selectors have opted not to name an immediate replacement, preferring to assess the squad’s needs as the tournament progresses.
The burden of leading the Australian pace attack now falls on Nathan Ellis, who has T20I caps. He will be supported by Ben Dwarshuis ( caps) and Xavier Bartlett ( caps). All-rounders Cameron Green and Marcus Stoinis will also contribute in the pace department. Sean Abbott is travelling with the squad as a reserve.
Ellis acknowledged the significance of losing a world-class bowler like Hazlewood. “You lose a world-class player and one of the better white-ball bowlers in the world in Hoff [Hazlewood], things are always going to have to change,” he said. “Really unfortunate for our squad that Hoff’s missing out but also for him. I feel like the poor bugger’s had a tough few months and hasn’t been able to get up. My role will [be to] try to be adaptable as much as I can but, yeah, missing Josh Hazlewood is always a big miss.”
The situation is particularly noteworthy given that neither Cummins nor Starc have featured in a T20I since the previous World Cup in , and Hazlewood has also had periods of rest. This has provided Australia with an opportunity to develop depth in their pace stocks. Dwarshuis has impressed with his variations, offering a left-arm angle not previously present in the squad, while Bartlett has shown promise with the new ball.
“We’ve had 18 to 24 months of cricket together where the big three haven’t been playing and have had bigger workloads in the Test arena,” Ellis explained. “So we’ve had time to form connections and form relationships on and off the field. As a bowling unit I actually think we work together really, really well. We’ve all got sort of different skill sets and we can gel together on the night and in different phases of the game. Massively beneficial from the work in the last 18 months leading up to now, so it’s not going to be a foreign space for us without those two big names. Obviously, a squad with Hoff and Cummo is a strong squad, but without them I feel like we’re just as well-placed to go deep.”
Ellis himself is returning from a hamstring injury sustained during the BBL finals with the Hobart Hurricanes. He expressed confidence in his fitness ahead of the opening game against Ireland, although the selectors may adopt a cautious approach and potentially hold him back for the match against Zimbabwe on . His performance during Australia’s main training session on will likely determine his availability.
“I’m conscious of jinxing myself here,” Ellis said. “I feel really good in myself, it was a very precautionary [missing BBL], there was something there a couple weeks ago … and we’ve taken a really cautious approach. We’ve got three games in a short amount of time at the start of our tournament, but touch wood I’m really confident that I’ll be fit and strong and hopefully playing every game of this World Cup.”
Australia will be the last team to begin their campaign, allowing them to observe the early matches and conditions. They have been paying close attention to Sri Lanka’s game against Ireland on at the R Premadasa Stadium, where Australia will play their first two matches. Ellis also noted the potential impact of varying match start times on pitch conditions.
“I think what we’ve seen so far is there’s been a little bit of slower wickets here in Sri Lanka and there’s been a lot of spin bowled,” he said. “I think that the big difference will be the 11am start to 7pm starts, so we’ll keep an eye on that and hopefully use it to our advantage.”
