Hazlewood Ruled Out of Ashes Series; Cummins to Return

Australian fast bowler Josh Hazlewood has been ruled out of the remainder of the Ashes series after sustaining hamstring and Achilles injuries, coach Andrew McDonald confirmed on Tuesday. The veteran pacer, who missed Australia's dominant eight-wicket victories in the opening two Tests against England in Perth and Brisbane, will now prioritize recovery for next year's T20 World Cup.

Hazlewood, a mainstay in Australia's pace attack for the past decade, had been expected to rejoin the team later in the five-Test series. However, the injuries, which first sidelined him with a hamstring issue in November during a domestic match for New South Wales and worsened with an Achilles problem last week, have ended his involvement. "It's really flat for him," McDonald said. "A couple of setbacks we didn't see coming. We thought he'd play a huge part in the series. We really feel for him that he won't get that opportunity."

The 32-year-old's absences have become a recurring theme in recent years. He played only two of five Tests in last summer's series against India, missed Australia's tour of Sri Lanka, and sat out four of five Ashes matches during England's previous visit in 2021-22....