Cummins, Hazlewood and Lyon were all injured for Australia’s last Test in Sydney in January but the trio return in place of the unfortunate Michael Neser, who played three of the five Ashes Tests including the last two and performed superbly. Todd Murphy and Brendan Doggett were both part of the Sydney squad although they didn’t play. Those two and Neser are on standby for the two-Test series against Bangladesh.
“The NSP [national selection panel] look forward to the return of Pat, Josh and Nathan,” national selector George Bailey said. “They have worked extremely hard, individually and with the SSSM [sports science, sports medicine] teams, over the past few months to return from their respective injuries.
“While this is a 13-player squad, we have players prepared and available should any adjustments be required in the lead up to these matches. As previously stated, the volume of cricket and schedule across the next 12 months are likely to present further opportunities across all formats for many players.”
Josh Inglis has been named as the spare batter and wicketkeeper in the squad having played two Ashes Tests last summer in Brisbane and Adelaide as a specialist batter.
Hazlewood’s return will force a tough decision for selectors regarding Scott Boland who played all five Ashes Tests alongside the indefatigable Mitchell Starc.
Hazlewood, 35, missed the entire Ashes due to hamstring and Achilles issues. He has sustained injuries in the first Test or first-class fixture he has played in four of the last five summers.
In 2021-22 he suffered a side strain in the first Ashes Test in Brisbane and missed the rest of the season. In 2022-23 he suffered another side strain in the first Test of the summer and missed the next two Tests. He then suffered Achilles issues following his first Test back in January 2023 and was sent home from the tour of India without playing a single Test. He had an uninterrupted run in 2023-24 playing nine Tests in a row before suffering yet another side strain in the first Test of the 2024-25 summer against India. He returned for the third Test in Brisbane and injured his calf early in the match.
He played four straight Tests last winter including the WTC final against South Africa and three Tests against West Indies in the Caribbean but suffered a hamstring strain in his first Sheffield Shield match last summer before the first Ashes Test. He then had ongoing Achilles issues while trying to return and missed the remainder of the series and the T20 World Cup.
Cummins, meanwhile, has played just one match for Australia since last July due to his back injury when he featured in the Ashes-winning victory in Adelaide. It was in that match that Lyon suffered a serious hamstring injury that required surgery.
Boland, 37, has not missed a Test through injury in that time and has 82 Test wickets at 18.58 from 19 appearances.
Australia’s Test squad vs Bangladesh
Pat Cummins (capt), Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Steven Smith, Mitchell Starc, Jake Weatherald, Beau Webster
