Will Josh Hazlewood Make His Comeback In 3rd Test Against India? Australia Pacer Reveals

Notably, Hazlewood has been battling a side strain and missed the Day-Night Test, which Australia won by 10 wickets in Adelaide to level the five-match series against India at 1-1 and boost their chances of reaching next year’s ICC World Test Championship Final.

Hazlewood was put through his paces in Adelaide on Monday and is aiming to make his return for the third Test in Brisbane should he pull up well over the next couple of days.

The 33-year-old seamer bowled in Adelaide on Monday. He got through a pair of lengthy spells operating at near-to-peak pace in a bid to prove his fitness prior to the third Test against India.

“I think it’ll be how I pull up in the 24 hours following it really. It’s just that repetitive (action) and obviously two spells makes a big difference. Cooling down pretty much fully and then going again in the same day, and the intensity has got to be right up there as well,” Hazlewood revealed.

“So a few boxes to tick, but it’s probably the 24 hours that follow and pulling up again the next day and then thinking ‘yeah, I’d be right to go again if I had to’,” he added.

If Hazlewood does return to Australia’s playing XI, it may mean Scott Boland will have to make the way despite the pacer taking five wickets across the two innings in Adelaide.

Meanwhile, Australia will look to improve on their recent record at the Brisbane ground that has seen them lose two of their last four matches at the iconic venue.

Hazlewood is confident that his side can continue their winning ways if they can adjust quickly to returning to using a red-ball.

“We always play pretty well in Brisbane (but) the last Test was obviously pink-ball. The pink-ball gets quite soft in Brisbane quite early on, with the wicket being quite hard, it doesn’t have that thatch grass that we see here at Adelaide,” the pacer said.

“So we’re back to the red-ball there, which I think suits us. We obviously haven’t won recently up there, but it’s a place we like to play as it suits our guys. It’s an experienced team, so we’ve all been there a lot of times.

It’s probably more just the time difference – the going from day-night and sleeping in – to your sleeping patterns, getting that adjusted and getting back on track,” he added.