Josh Hazlewood is expected to train as planned in the nine days leading up to the Ashes opener in Perth after an injury scare at the SCG that put stand-in Test skipper Steve Smith and Cricket Australia medical staff on high alert.

Scans at lunch in NSW’s heavy 300-run loss to Victoria cleared Hazlewood of serious injury after he reported “hamstring tightness” to Blues skipper Smith on a dramatic Wednesday morning.

Josh Hazlewood celebrates a wicket for NSW on Wednesday. Credit: Getty Images

Hazlewood and reserve Test paceman Sean Abbott completed spells of five and four overs respectively before both left the field for hamstring scans. Abbott was subsequently ruled out of Australia’s 15-man Test squad, which will assemble in Perth on Sunday ahead of the series opener on November 21.

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