Cricket: Josh Hazlewood expected to come in for fourth Ashes Test in England

And in the eyes of most pundits, his inclusion is all but guaranteed.

Scott Boland, Hazlewood's like-for-like replacement in the series, has underwhelmed in the two tests he has played with just a pair of wickets to his name.

The Bendemeer product, meanwhile, took five wickets at Lord's, three in the World Test Championship final, and has a career average of 25.2 from 10 Tests in England.

"I was probably a little bit underdone for that World Test Championship [final] and then got ready for the first game," Hazlewood told reporters this week.

"I didn't seem too rusty when I was out there in the middle. Once you get that big day of workload underneath you, you feel a lot better for the run."

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The primary reason for his absence in two out of the three tests of the series so far have been concerns over injury.

After missing most of Australia's Tests in the last two years with various injuries, Australian selectors have been reluctant to ask too much of Hazlewood in a series as important as the Ashes.

But given the forecast of rain for much of the fourth Test, pace is expected to play an important role at Old Trafford, with play set to begin tomorrow night. And with good form behind him, against an aggressive (sometimes overly so) English batting lineup, Hazlewood believes his body will hold up.

"The way England play, it gets us in the field for a little less in terms of workload. I felt pretty good going into [Headingley]," he said.

"It was probably the right call now I can sit back and look at the big picture. I was desperate to play, which is obvious. But now it makes sense.

"Missing Headingley is probably the reason to set me up for the last two games. I know they're back-to-back but we haven't bowled a lot of overs. Hopefully with that work behind me now, I'm in a better position than I was a month ago. That sort of puts me in a good place to hopefully get through those last two games."

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