Hazlewood ruled out of Ashes after Achilles setback

Josh Hazlewood has been ruled out of the remainder of the 2025-26 Ashes series after suffering a fresh injury setback, coach Andrew McDonald confirmed on Tuesday (December 9). The right-arm quick aggravated his Achilles last week, ending any chance of featuring against England this summer. He will now target a return ahead of Australia's T20 World Cup campaign in February.

"Really flat for him," McDonald said. "A couple of setbacks that we didn't see coming. We thought he'd play a huge part in the series, so we really feel for him that he won't get that opportunity."

While Hazlewood's absence forces a rethink of Australia's pace plans for the final three Tests, the news is more upbeat for Pat Cummins, who is expected to resume the captaincy in next week's Adelaide Test. Cummins has not played since July due to a lower-back injury but impressed during match-simulation spells.

McDonald said the 32-year-old is on track to be added to Australia's squad and to take over from Steve Smith. "There won't be any match opportunities for Pat before Adelaide, but this is something we've done with him before long layoffs," he said. "We feel as though he'll be as best prepared as can be."

Nathan Lyon is also tipped to return for the final three Tests after being left out of the pink-ball Test in Brisbane.

Meanwhile, Mitchell Starc, who leads the series with 18 wickets from two Tests, carried a minor left-side niggle through the Gabba but remains in no doubt for Adelaide. Australia are mindful of the tight turnaround between the last three matches, with Starc and Scott Boland having already delivered heavy workloads.

With Cummins and Lyon set to return, two of Boland, Michael Neser and Brendan Doggett are expected to miss in Adelaide, adding fresh pace options for the Melbourne and Sydney Tests. Jhye Richardson also remains a potential late-series consideration after bowling 26 overs for Australia A last week.

"The gap between the early Tests was something we thought we could manage," McDonald said. "It's probably more so in Tests four and five, but we've got a big inclusion coming and that will create a different balance to our attack."