Australian fast bowler Josh Hazlewood has indicated he is likely to be fit for selection in the second Test against South Africa, which gets underway on Boxing Day at the MCG.
But that revelation leaves a massive headache for the selectors, who will have to justify dropping a player who averages an astonishing 10.36 with the ball in Test cricket, and last year bowled the Aussies to a famous Ashes victory at the Melbourne arena.
Scott Boland looms as the unlucky man if Hazlewood does return to the XI for the first time since suffering a side strain against the West Indies in Perth.
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The 33-year-old was called on to make his debut in the baggy green last summer at the MCG, and stunned England by taking 6-7 to end the match inside three days.
He has played four more Tests since that famous occasion, and boasts 25 wickets at the aforementioned average, which bests every other bowler in the history of the game.
On paper it would seem ludicrous to axe a man with such astonishing stats, but Hazlewood is considered one of the best fast bowlers in the world and has 217 wickets in 58 matches to attest to that fact.
He has missed Australia’s last two Tests, but is determined to prove his fitness before the toss on Boxing Day.
“Everything is ticking along nicely and going according to plan,” Hazlewood told Channel 7 on Sunday.
“If I’m ticking the box on the 24th (of December) and bowling two spells of four or five overs with a break in between, that’s the final tick we’re looking for, then I’ll be available for selection hopefully.
“I’m not noticing the side at all, so fingers crossed.”
Australia boasts the best and most successful bowling quartet in world cricket when Hazlewood joins captain Pat Cummins, fellow quick Mitchell Starc, and off-spinner Nathan Lyon on the field.
But Boland has proven to be an ideal replacement whenever one of the quicks is forced to miss a match.
He is also a Melbourne local, and adored by fans in the Victorian capital after last summer’s heroics.
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”Even looking at the first Test of the summer was a tough call after the summer he had last year,” Cummins said of omitting Boland from the team.
“We keep talking about the next six months – we’ve got some big tours coming up and we’re going to need more than 11 players.
“To be able to draw on someone like Joshy Hazlewood off the bench, it’s going to be tough with someone missing out.”
With Hazlewood’s fitness under a cloud it’s not expected Australia will name an XI before Christmas Day.
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