Australia selector Bailey won't rule out Boland appearance despite Hazlewood recall

[p]The trio were named on Tuesday for matches in ‌Darwin (Aug. 13-17) and Mackay (Aug. 22-26), which form part of the World Test Championship cycle, after playing ‌only three tests between them during the Ashes in the last home summer.[/p][p]Australia's "big ‌four" of Cummins, Hazlewood, Mitchell Starc and Lyon have not bowled together since the ‌West Indies tour a year ago due to various injuries but chief selector ‌George Bailey said it was too early to confirm whether they would all turn out against Bangladesh, despite being fit.[/p][p]"[b]We won't be locking in an 11 this far out,[/b]" Bailey told reporters ‌in a video call on Tuesday.[/p][p]"[b]We do know that ⁠across this two-test series, the depth ‌is there.[/b]"[/p][p]With 295 test wickets at an average of 24.21, 35-year-old Hazlewood has been one ​of Australia's most devastating bowlers but injuries have limited his output in recent years, including forcing him to miss the entire Ashes series with ​hamstring and Achilles problems.[/p][p]In his absence, 37-year-old seamer Scott Boland took 20 wickets in an excellent series in the 4-1 defeat of England, and Bailey was frank ⁠about the competition Hazlewood faces ​from the Victoria quick.[/p][embed guid="7e518004-837c-4c21-91ec-cbfc30595d56" url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hV2NCPZn0W8" social-type="youtube" /][p]"[b]Scotty would never say it, but yeah, I think he's mounting a strong case that when you use the words of big three[/b] (fast bowlers), [b]that he could be one of those,[/b]" said Bailey.[/p][p]Hazlewood's recall means no place for Michael ‌Neser despite the paceman's fine Ashes campaign.[/p][p]The squad is the first following opener Usman Khawaja's retirement, potentially creating opportunity at the top of the order.[/p][p]South Australia opener Jake Weatherald has been retained despite struggling during his debut test series in the Ashes when he averaged 22.33 across the five matches.[/p][p]The pocket-sized lefthander has yet to convince but Bailey said selectors saw positives in the opening combination with Travis Head during the Ashes.[/p][p]"[b]Hopefully we do see some growth out of that[/b] (Ashes) [b]and some understanding of what it takes for success at test level[/b]," he said.[/p][p]Cameron Green ‌has also held onto his spot after a disappointing Ashes with bat and ​ball, and is one of two all-rounders in the squad with Beau ‌Webster.[/p][p]Josh Inglis was retained as a potential middle order batting option.[/p][p]Australia sit top of the World Test Championship table midway through the cycle and will look to cement their place with a series win over fourth-placed Bangladesh ahead of a tough tour of South Africa in October.[/p][h2]Australia 13-man first Test squad:[/h2][p]Pat Cummins (c), Scott Boland, Alex Carey (wk), Cameron Green, Travis Head, Josh Inglis (wk), Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Jake Weatherald, Beau Webster[/p][h2]Australia's World Test Championship fixtures:[/h2][p][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/australia/OxG0JfXg/"]3-0 away to West Indies, June-July 2025[/a][/p][p][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/australia/OxG0JfXg/"]4-1 at home to England, Nov 2025-Jan 2026[/a][/p][p]2 Tests at home to Bangladesh, Aug 2026[/p][p]3 Tests away to South Africa, Oct 2026[/p][p]4 Tests at home to New Zealand, Dec 2026-Jan 2027[/p][p]5 Tests away to India, Jan-Mar 2027[/p][p]Final: June 2027, Lord's[/p]