MCG hero's return in peril as Hazlewood firms for return

Josh Hazlewood is on track to be available for the Boxing Day Test, as selectors could be forced to rob Scott Boland of the chance to repeat his MCG heroics from last summer.

Hazlewood has missed the last two NRMA Insurance Tests in Adelaide and Brisbane due to a side strain, but bowled in the Gabba nets at 90 per cent intensity on Sunday as Australia wrapped up a remarkable win over South Africa inside two days.

"Everything is ticking along nicely and going according to plan," Hazlewood told Channel Seven. "If I'm ticking the box on the 24th (of December) and bowling two spells of four or five overs with a break in between, that's the final tick we're looking for, then I'll be available for selection hopefully.

"I'll build it up over the next week and a half and tick that last box on the 24th hopefully.

"I'm not noticing the side at all, so fingers crossed."

Should Hazlewood prove his fitness, it will mean Australia must pick between a man who has 217 Test wickets or one who has only 25, but which have come at a better average than any bowler in history.

Boland impressed again in his fifth Test, snaring two wickets in each innings and proving a solid foil for Pat Cummins and Mitchell Starc as they, along with spinner Nathan Lyon, rolled South Africa for 152 and 99.

The Victorian seamer shot to prominence during last year's Boxing Day Test, earning a surprise debut before sending down one of the Ashes' most memorable spells of 6-7 to bowl Australia to a three-day, urn-sealing victory in front of his home crowd.

Days after becoming just the fourth Indigenous person to pull on the Baggy Green, the right-armer then won the Johnny Mullagh Medal as player-of-the-match in the Melbourne Test, named after the trailblazing allrounder of the 1868 Indigenous tour of the United Kingdom.

Adding to the selection headache is the fact Australia's rapid victory, the first time in over 90 years they have won inside two days at home, has given them the luxury of a full week off between the first and second Tests against the Proteas.

The Aussies have been eager to create a pack of available fast bowlers, with Michael Neser slotting in seamlessly in Adelaide while Western Australia quicks Lance Morris and Jhye Richardson are both in the mix as well. 

But the extra time between Tests means all three of Boland (who only sent down 19 overs in Brisbane), Pat Cummins and Mitchell Starc (25 each) should be fresh for Melbourne.

Cummins suggested it had been a difficult call to leave Boland out in the Perth Test against West Indies. 

"Even looking at the first Test of the summer was a tough call after the summer he had last year," he said.

"We keep talking about the next six months – we've got some big tours coming up and we're going to need more than 11 players.

"To be able to draw on someone like Joshy Hazlewood off the bench, it's going to be tough with someone missing out."

Hazlewood has suggested he may need to review how he manages his own body after this latest injury.

The tall paceman, who similarly suffered a side injury during last summer's first Test and missed the rest of the Ashes, suffered his latest blow after a long run of white-ball cricket including the recent T20 World Cup campaign.

The 31-year-old has become an increasingly important member of the T20 side in particular, but admitted the extra limited-overs matches might have meant he came into this Test summer underdone.

"It's been a frustrating little period I guess, in particular in red ball (cricket)," said Hazlewood.

"The white-ball (cricket) has been going great the last few years.

"I guess that's the cost of playing all three formats and putting all your energy into every little game you play.

"You don't have that time to either build your strength up and or build the workloads up to get ready for a Test match.

"We might have to look at that and find a way around that somehow."

Men's NRMA Insurance Test Series v South Africa

First Test: Australia won by six wickets

Dec 26-30: Second Test, MCG, 10.30am AEDT

Jan 4-8: Third Test, SCG, 10.30am AEDT

Australia squad: Pat Cummins (c), Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Cameron Green, Marcus Harris, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Lance Morris, Nathan Lyon, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, David Warner

South Africa squad: Dean Elgar (c), Temba Bavuma, Gerald Coetzee, Theunis de Bruyn, Sarel Eree, Simon Harmer, Marco Jansen, Keshav Maharaj, Heinrich Klaasen, Lungi Ngidi, Anrich Nortje, Kagiso Rabada, Rassie van der Dussen, Kyle Verreynne, Lizaad Williams, Khaya Zondo

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