Australia welcome back 3 members of ‘big 4’ bowlers for Bangladesh tests
Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood, Nathan Lyon return from injury as selectors name 13-man squad for tests in Darwin and Mackay next month
Australia captain Pat Cummins, fellow fast bowler Josh Hazlewood and veteran spinner Nathan Lyon have returned from injury to be included in a 13-man squad for next month’s two-test home series against Bangladesh.
The trio were named on Tuesday for matches in Darwin (August 13-17) and Mackay (August 22-26), which form part of the World Test Championship cycle, after playing only three tests between them during the Ashes in the last home summer.
Australia’s “big four” of Cummins, Hazlewood, Mitchell Starc and Lyon have not bowled together since the West Indies tour a year ago because of various injuries but chief selector George Bailey said it was too early to confirm whether they would all turn out against Bangladesh, despite being fit.
“We won’t be locking in an 11 this far out,” Bailey told reporters in a video call on Tuesday.
“We do know that across this two-test series, the depth is there.”
With 295 test wickets at an average of 24.21, 35-year-old Hazlewood has been one of Australia’s most devastating bowlers but injuries have limited his output in recent years, including forcing him to miss the entire Ashes series with hamstring and Achilles problems.