Star Aussie quicks ruled out of tour

Mitchell Starc will be the only member of Australia's Ashes-winning pace trio to feature on the upcoming Test tour against Pakistan after Josh Hazlewood and Pat Cummins were ruled out through injury.

Cricket Australia confirmed Thursday that both Hazlewood and Cummins have not had the necessary volume of bowling to be match fit for the Pakistan series, expected to be held in the UAE in October.

The loss of both pacemen will be a major blow for Australia, who are set to play their first Test series since the ill-fated tour of South Africa earlier this year.

Australia's men's team physiotherapist David Beakley said the duo are on track to make a return during September's JLT One-Day Cup with NSW ahead of the start of the international season.

"Pat and Josh are progressing well from their lumbar bone stress injuries but are not bowling, so unfortunately they will not be at the level required for Test match intensity come October," Beakley said.

"Barring any setbacks, we are hopeful that Pat and Josh will return via the back-end of the JLT One-Day Cup, with the aim of them being available for the ODI Series against South Africa in November as they build towards the Indian Test Series.

"On a positive note Mitchell Starc is back to unrestricted training and remains on track for the Test Series against Pakistan."

The absence of both Cummins and Hazlewood means the upcoming Australia A tour of India will hold even more significance for a number of pace hopefuls.

Chris Tremain, Michael Neser, Joel Paris and Brendan Doggett are the four specialist quicks selected in the four-day squad for the 'A' series, with two first-class games scheduled against India A in early September.

Jhye Richardson and Chadd Sayers were not selected, but both were part of Australia's Test squad for the South Africa series earlier this year. Jackson Bird also originally won selection for that trip before he was ruled out due to injury.

New Australia head coach Justin Langer earlier this year said the 'A' tour of India would be "huge" for fringe Test players, flagging that the trip could potentially decide spots for the Pakistan series.

Batting spots could also be up for grabs given three first-choice players – Steve Smith, David Warner and Cameron Bancroft, who are all serving bans from the Cape Town ball-tampering incident – will be missing.

Incumbent Test top-order players Shaun Marsh, Mitch Marsh, Joe Burns and Matthew Renshaw are all on the comeback trail from injuries, as is Glenn Maxwell.

Following the Pakistan series, Australia kick off the home summer on November 5 with the first match of a three-game Gillette ODI series against South Africa at Optus Stadium in Perth.

Four T20s – one against the Proteas and three against the touring Indians – follow in late November, before the first of four Domain Tests against India gets underway on December 6 in Adelaide.

Australia A Tour of India

Australia A one-day squad: Travis Head (c), Alex Carey (vc), Ashton Agar, Peter Handscomb, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Michael Neser, Joel Paris, Matthew Renshaw, Jhye Richardson, D'Arcy Short, Billy Stanlake, Mitch Swepson, Chris Tremain, Jack Wildermuth

Schedule

One-day fixtures in Vijayawada

17 August v India A

19 August v South Africa A

21 August v India B

23 August v India A

25 August v South Africa A

27 August v India B

29 August - Quad-Series Final

Australia A four-day squad: Mitchell Marsh (c), Alex Carey (vc), Ashton Agar, Brendan Doggett, Peter Handscomb, Travis Head, Jon Holland, Usman Khawaja, Michael Neser, Joel Paris, Kurtis Patterson, Matthew Renshaw, Mitch Swepson, Chris Tremain

Four-day fixtures in Vizag

2-5 September v India A

8-11 September v India A