Due to an injury, Australia’s Josh Hazlewood was ruled out of the ICC World Test Championship Final against India on Sunday.
After continuing to suffer from an Achilles and side issue, Australia named all-rounder Michael Neser as Hazlewood’s replacement for the final, which begins on Wednesday at the Oval in London.
Due to the injury, the right-arm seamer had to cancel his stint with the Royal Challengers Bangalore in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 before returning to Australia for treatment.
So far, Neser, 33, has played in two Tests and as many One-Day Internationals for Australia. He has recently been in excellent form for Glamorgan in the English Country Championship, taking 19 wickets in five matches and scoring a century against Sussex and Australian teammate Steve Smith in a recent Division Two match.
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Neser, along with Scott Boland, could be considered Australia’s third-choice seamer for the final. Boland has only played seven Tests for his country, but he has taken 28 wickets at an incredible average of 13.42.
Meanwhile, Australia expects Hazlewood to return for the upcoming Ashes series, which begins on June 16 in Birmingham.
Australia’s updated squad is as follows: Pat Cummins (c), Scott Boland, Alex Carey (wk), Cameron Green, Marcus Harris, Travis Head, Josh Inglis (wk), Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Todd Murphy, Michael Neser, Steve Smith (vc), Mitchell Starc, and David Warner.
Mitch Marsh and Matthew Renshaw are on the bench.