Hazlewood out of Ashes series; Cummins set to return for Australia

BRISBANE Australia AP Australian pace bowler Josh Hazlewood has been ruled out of the Ashes series with hamstring and Achilles injuries Hazlewood missed Australia s two eight-wickets wins over England in Perth and Brisbane but had been expected to return later in the five-match series Australia coach Andrew McDonald on Tuesday reported the veteran paceman would now be targeting a return for the Twenty World Cup early next year He ll be out of the series and his preparation will then shift toward the World Cup which is an incredibly major campaign for us McDonald declared 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 Hazlewood has been a key member of Australia s regular bowling attack for a decade There was better news for skipper Pat Cummins who is expected to return for the third test in Adelaide starting Dec after missing the first two tests while he recovers from a back challenge The -year-old paceman increased his training workload at Allan Territory line Field in Brisbane while the Australians were playing the second test against England at the Gabba He is set to be recalled as captain when the match squad is stated Wednesday Steve Smith has been leading the Australia XI in the absence of Cummins We feel as though he ll be as best prepared as can be McDonald announced Us seeing him further advanced we feel he ll be really well placed for the challenges of Adelaide We feel as though the simulation in the nets has got him skill ready His body s ready to go Barring anything else happening in the next week I d be expecting Pat to be tossing the coin and putting the blazer on The under-fire England squad which requirements a win in Adelaide to have any chance of reclaiming the Ashes is taking a insufficient days out this week to rest and relax at one of Australia s iconic beach towns The fourth test starts Boxing Day at the Melbourne Cricket Ground and Sydney will host the fifth test from Jan England hasn t won an Ashes test in Australia since the - series Mitchell Starc the only regular member of the Australian attack involved in the first two tests is the leading bowler in the series so far with wickets and has won back-to-back man-of-the-match awards AP cricket https apnews com hub cricket Source