Australia retain John Hastings in the squad for the 3rd ODI

Fast bowler John Hastings, who was included in the second ODI in place of Josh Hazlewood, has been retained in Australia’s squad for the 3rd ODI against India which will be played at the MCG on 17th January.

Cricket Australia today said that Hastings will come in for seamer Josh Hazlewood for the remainder of the series. Hazlewood has been given a break for the rest of the season by the board considering his high workload.

“Josh has played all six Tests this summer and has had a high workload. On that basis, the decision has been made to give him a break to allow him to recharge both physically and mentally ahead of the (February) tour of New Zealand.” team coach Darren Lehmann said.

Cricket Australia also stated that the squad for the final two matches of the India ODI series will be announced after the third game.

Going by the recent inclusions, it seems that the Australian team management is it testing its pace strength after injuries to their frontline bowlers. Joel Paris and Scott Boland also debuted during the series while Kane Richardson also got a chance to play in the previous ODI. However, the new bowling attack has not been very effective against the strong Indian line-up.

Inspite of the second string bowling attack, Australia are currently in a comfortable position in the series and are likely to lift the series considering the current form of the team. They lead the series 2-0 after winning the first two games at Perth and Brisbane quite easily.