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Pacers Cummins, Starc to take on added duties for Australia vs India in Hazlewood's absence

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Pacers Cummins, Starc to take on added duties for Australia vs India in Hazlewood's absence
Sport

Sport

Pacers Cummins, Starc to take on added duties for Australia vs India in Hazlewood's absence

2024-12-19 16:10 Last Updated At:16:30

BRISBANE, Australia (AP) — Australia captain Pat Cummins says he and fellow pace bowler Mitchell Starc will have to take on added duties in the absence of the injured Josh Hazlewood if pitches continue to be as seam-friendly as they have been in Perth, Adelaide and Brisbane in the five-test series against India.

The third test ended in a rain-affected draw in Brisbane on Wednesday and the series is level at 1-1. India won the first test by 295 runs at Perth, while Australia came back to win the second day-night test in Adelaide by 10 wickets.

Hazlewood, who missed the Adelaide test due to side soreness, it out for the rest of the series with a calf injury.

India fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah leads all bowlers in the series with 21 wickets, while Cummins and Starc have 14 each.

Cummins said Thursday he was hopeful that both he and Starc would play the remaining tests — the Boxing Day match starting Dec. 26 at the Melbourne Cricket Ground and the Sydney test beginning Jan. 3.

“Nothing is for certain,” he said. "See how we pull up. But today we’re both fine so I can’t see that changing. It was hot yesterday but physically outside of that we’re good to go.

“We’d had about seven days or so off bowling after Adelaide so we were fresh and ready to go. If anything, the rain breaks (in Brisbane) actually helped us get a bit of a break.”

If Australia cannot beat India in both Melbourne and Sydney, the side will need to win at least one test on Galle’s turning wickets in Sri Lanka next month to keep its World Test Championship title defense alive. It is believed Hazlewood could be back running early in the new year and be fit to return for the two-test Sri Lanka tour.

Cummins' wife Becky is due to give birth around the time of the Sri Lanka matches, placing him in possible doubt for one of them. The Galle tests are scheduled to begin on Jan. 29 and Feb. 6.

AP cricket: https://apnews.com/hub/cricket

Australia's Josh Hazlewood celebrates the wicket of India's Virat Kohli during play on day three of the third cricket test between India and Australia at the Gabba in Brisbane, Australia, Monday, Dec. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Pat Hoelscher)

Australia's Josh Hazlewood celebrates the wicket of India's Virat Kohli during play on day three of the third cricket test between India and Australia at the Gabba in Brisbane, Australia, Monday, Dec. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Pat Hoelscher)

Australia's Mitchell Starc bowls a delivery during play on day four of the third cricket test between India and Australia at the Gabba in Brisbane, Australia, Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Pat Hoelscher)

Australia's Mitchell Starc bowls a delivery during play on day four of the third cricket test between India and Australia at the Gabba in Brisbane, Australia, Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Pat Hoelscher)

Australia's captain Pat Cummins bowls a delivery during play on day four of the third cricket test between India and Australia at the Gabba in Brisbane, Australia, Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Pat Hoelscher)

Australia's captain Pat Cummins bowls a delivery during play on day four of the third cricket test between India and Australia at the Gabba in Brisbane, Australia, Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Pat Hoelscher)

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French president arrives in Mayotte to survey Cyclone Chido damage

2024-12-19 16:13 Last Updated At:16:20

MAMOUDZOU, Mayotte (AP) — French President Emmanuel Macron arrived Thursday to the Indian Ocean archipelago of Mayotte to survey the devastation wreaked by Cyclone Chido.

Macron will overfly the area for an aerial appraisal of the damage before visiting the hospital. He will then visit a destroyed neighborhood.

French authorities said at least 31 people have died and more than 1,500 people were injured, more than 200 critically.

But it's feared hundreds or even thousands of people have died after the strongest cyclone in nearly a century ripped through the French territory of Mayotte off the coast of Africa on Saturday.

People queue for gas in Mamoudzou, in the French Indian Ocean island of Mayotte, Thursday, Dec. 19, 2024, after Cyclone Chido. (AP Photo/Adrienne Surprenant)

People queue for gas in Mamoudzou, in the French Indian Ocean island of Mayotte, Thursday, Dec. 19, 2024, after Cyclone Chido. (AP Photo/Adrienne Surprenant)

People queue for gas in Mamoudzou, in the French Indian Ocean island of Mayotte, Thursday, Dec. 19, 2024, after Cyclone Chido. (AP Photo/Adrienne Surprenant)

People queue for gas in Mamoudzou, in the French Indian Ocean island of Mayotte, Thursday, Dec. 19, 2024, after Cyclone Chido. (AP Photo/Adrienne Surprenant)

Women wash clothes in a stream in the Kaweni slum on the outskirts of Mamoudzou in the French Indian Ocean island of Mayotte, Thursday, Dec. 19, 2024, after Cyclone Chido. (AP Photo/Adrienne Surprenant)

Women wash clothes in a stream in the Kaweni slum on the outskirts of Mamoudzou in the French Indian Ocean island of Mayotte, Thursday, Dec. 19, 2024, after Cyclone Chido. (AP Photo/Adrienne Surprenant)

A man stands on his roof in the Kaweni slum on the outskirts of Mamoudzou in the French Indian Ocean island of Mayotte, Thursday, Dec. 19, 2024, after Cyclone Chido. (AP Photo/Adrienne Surprenant)

A man stands on his roof in the Kaweni slum on the outskirts of Mamoudzou in the French Indian Ocean island of Mayotte, Thursday, Dec. 19, 2024, after Cyclone Chido. (AP Photo/Adrienne Surprenant)

A boy sits in his destroyed home in the Kaweni slum on the outskirts of Mamoudzou in the French Indian Ocean island of Mayotte, Thursday, Dec. 19, 2024, after Cyclone Chido. (AP Photo/Adrienne Surprenant)

A boy sits in his destroyed home in the Kaweni slum on the outskirts of Mamoudzou in the French Indian Ocean island of Mayotte, Thursday, Dec. 19, 2024, after Cyclone Chido. (AP Photo/Adrienne Surprenant)

A boy stands amidst debris in the Kaweni slum on the outskirts of Mamoudzou in the French Indian Ocean island of Mayotte, Thursday, Dec. 19, 2024, after Cyclone Chido. (AP Photo/Adrienne Surprenant)

A boy stands amidst debris in the Kaweni slum on the outskirts of Mamoudzou in the French Indian Ocean island of Mayotte, Thursday, Dec. 19, 2024, after Cyclone Chido. (AP Photo/Adrienne Surprenant)

People queue for gas in Mamoudzou in the French Indian Ocean island of Mayotte, Thursday, Dec. 19, 2024, after Cyclone Chido. (AP Photo/Adrienne Surprenant)

People queue for gas in Mamoudzou in the French Indian Ocean island of Mayotte, Thursday, Dec. 19, 2024, after Cyclone Chido. (AP Photo/Adrienne Surprenant)

A young girl walks in the Kaweni slum on the outskirts of Mamoudzou, in the French Indian Ocean island of Mayotte, Thursday, Dec. 19, 2024, after Cyclone Chido. (AP Photo/Adrienne Surprenant)

A young girl walks in the Kaweni slum on the outskirts of Mamoudzou, in the French Indian Ocean island of Mayotte, Thursday, Dec. 19, 2024, after Cyclone Chido. (AP Photo/Adrienne Surprenant)

A young girl walks in the Kaweni slum on the outskirts of Mamoudzou, in the French Indian Ocean island of Mayotte, Thursday, Dec. 19, 2024, after Cyclone Chido. (AP Photo/Adrienne Surprenant)

A young girl walks in the Kaweni slum on the outskirts of Mamoudzou, in the French Indian Ocean island of Mayotte, Thursday, Dec. 19, 2024, after Cyclone Chido. (AP Photo/Adrienne Surprenant)

Women rest on a footbridge over a stream filled with debris in the Kaweni slum in the French Indian Ocean island of Mayotte, Thursday, Dec. 19, 2024, after Cyclone Chido. (AP Photo/Adrienne Surprenant)

Women rest on a footbridge over a stream filled with debris in the Kaweni slum in the French Indian Ocean island of Mayotte, Thursday, Dec. 19, 2024, after Cyclone Chido. (AP Photo/Adrienne Surprenant)

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