Brisbane: Australia seamer Josh Hazlewood is hoping he will be fit enough to return for the third Border-Gavaskar Trophy Test against India starting here on Saturday.
Hazlewood has been battling a side strain and was forced to watch on from the sidelines as Australia clinched an impressive 10-wicket triumph 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.
But 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, an ICC report said.
"I think it'll be how I pull up in the 24 hours following it really," Hazlewood revealed.
"It’s just that repetitive (action) and obviously two spells makes a big difference," he said.
"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 said.
"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 said.
If Hazlewood does return to Australia's playing XI it may mean Scott Boland makes way despite the pacer making a solid contribution in Adelaide and picking up five wickets across the two innings.
Both fast bowlers will make the trip to Brisbane ahead of the Gabba Test, with Australia looking to improve on their recent record at the ground that has seen them lose two of their last four matches at the iconic venue.
That includes a three-wicket loss to India in the Aussies' most recent Test against India in Brisbane, but Hazlewood is confident 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," Hazlewood noted.
"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," he said.
"So we're back to the red-ball there, which I think suits us," Hazlewood said.
"We obviously haven't won recently up there, but it's a place we like to play as it suits our guys,"
he said.
"It's an experienced team, so we've all been there a lot of times," Hazlewood said.
"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.
