With less than ten days for the start of the Ashes 2025, Australia has been sweating on the fitness of two fast bowlers – Josh Hazlewood and Sean Abbott were sent for scans on day three of the Sheffield Shield clash between New South Wales and Victoria.

The duo didn’t return to the field after lunch on Wednesday, with Cricket NSW initially confirming the duo were being assessed, but the nature and severity of the injuries are yet to be confirmed.

Speaking to the reporters in Sydney, Australia, captain Pat Cummins has revealed the injury scare, adding that the duo has been sent for scans on their hamstrings.

“Joshy was pretty chipper when he got out, so hopefully he should be fine,” said Pat Cummins.

“Sean I’m not so sure about. I think they’re still assessing him,” Cummins said about Sean Abbott.

“We’re a week away from the Test series, always err on the side of caution, they wanted to find out what was happening before pushing it and potentially making anything worse.”

While asked about how Aussies will handle the setback, “Hopefully not too much.”

“We’ll wait and see how it comes out over the next 24 hours. Joshy was pretty confident when he walked out, so hopefully shouldn’t be too much of an issue,” added Pat Cummins.

“It’s rare to get him chipper, so it was good to see him smiling,” further said Cummins. “He knows his body really well. I think he was a little bit worried, wanted to get it checked out. I only saw him briefly, but he was a bit happier afterwards.”

With Cummins having already ruled out of the first test against England due to back issues, Josh Hazlewood injury scare becomes a massive blow for the hosts, along with Lance Morris, Richardson, and Spencer Johnson also missing the opener test due to injury.

However, these setbacks have opened the door for South Australian seamer Brendan Doggett to potentially make his test debut during the Perth test.

The 31-year-old has taken 13 Sheffield Shield wickets at 14.69 since returning from a minor hamstring injury.

“He’s been bowling really well the last couple of games from what I’ve seen,” Cummins said of Doggett.

“He missed the first (Sheffield Shield) game or two, but he’s come back really strongly. He’s really well placed to be vying for a spot in that first Test. It’s always nice to have a squad full of people in form, and he’s certainly one of those guys.”

Meanwhile, Pat Cummins is optimistic about returning to the second Ashes test against England, which will begin on December 04.

“Still not 100 per cent yet, so hopefully by Perth I’m up there near 100 per cent, and then we’ll see where we’re at.

“It’s still pretty aggressive, going from nothing to trying to get ready for a Test match in four weeks. But we’re going to give it a good shot,” concluded Pat Cummins.