As his focus shifts to Sheffield Shield cricket following an incredible T20I performance against India at the MCG, Josh Hazlewood claims he is bowling as well as he has ever done in white-ball cricket. However, he has urged Australia’s selectors to choose as many all-rounders as possible for the Ashes.
With three games remaining, Hazlewood helped Australia take a 1-0 series lead by smashing through India’s top order with Test-match-style figures of 3 for 13 from four overs.
As his final game before the first Ashes Test on November 21, Hazlewood will now depart Australia’s squad to get ready for a Shield match against Victoria beginning on November 10.
Hazlewood has been asked frequently if he can survive five Test matches against England after suffering injuries in both of the two Test matches he played last summer, and Pat Cummins’ injury has brought attention to his significance coming into the Ashes series.
As controversy rages over whether Australia can fit both Cameron Green and Beau Webster in the same top six, Hazlewood was questioned about the value of the all-rounders in the Test team. However, Hazlewood stated that the all-rounders were essential.
Following his guy of the Match performance on Friday, Hazlewood stated, “I believe the first player selected [should be] an all-rounder.” “Reminiscent of the twenty or so Test matches we played without an all-rounder, they were difficult. As a result, if [they] are able to play for the team, [Ca Green] Beau has performed admirably for us whenever he has played, and Greeny is undoubtedly an exceptional player. In my opinion, the more the better. They are free to bowl as much as they choose.
Hazlewood has been in outstanding white-ball form lately. Hazlewood made a deliberate choice with the selection panel and CA’s medical experts to play as much as he possibly could throughout the winter, in contrast to Mitchell Starc, who has retired from T20I cricket and also missing the ODI series against South Africa in August to take a lengthy vacation from bowling. Hazlewood missed half of the IPL, the Champions Trophy, and five Test matches due to side and calf injuries sustained during a major hiatus in the winter of 2024.
After surviving the second half of the IPL, four winter Test matches, T20I and ODI series against South Africa, T20Is against New Zealand, ODIs against India, and now two T20Is versus India, the decision to continue bowling is currently paying off. However, he claims that until the Ashes is over, he won’t be able to tell if it’s the right one.
“Everything’s going swimmingly now,” noted Hazlewood. “I doubt I’ll be able to declare with certainty whether it’s worked flawlessly until after the summer. If I finish everything, it will most likely serve as the template going forward, allowing me to play as many games as possible. If it doesn’t align with travel, turnarounds, and other such factors, we’re still resting the occasional one here and there.”
Before playing for New South Wales against Victoria in a Shield match at the SCG beginning on November 10, Hazlewood will return home to Sydney to rest. Australia’s team will fly to Hobart on Saturday in preparation for Sunday’s third Twenty20 International before travelling north to Queensland for the final two games on the Gold Coast and Brisbane next Thursday and Saturday, respectively.
“The next week, I’ll just probably get in the gym a couple of times,” Hazlewood stated.
“With the Shield game commencing at home on Monday, there isn’t really a need to bowl a lot; that will probably happen later in the week. Therefore, the next several days will be a little bit of a de-load before continuing. Thus, everything is going well.
Abhishek Sharma, the opener for India, was ecstatic to learn during the press conference that Hazlewood, who had tortured India’s batters throughout the tour thus far, would miss the final three matches of the T20I series.
“Oh, is he? “I was unaware of this,” Abhishek remarked.
“I also kept an eye on him during the ODIs. We anticipated that he would present us with this level of difficulty and problems. Obviously, even I was taken aback by the way he bowled today.
“This is unlike anything I’ve seen in T20s. As a hitter who aspires to dominate, it was also something new for me. However, when I watched him bowling from the opposite side, it appeared to me that he had a strategy and was simply carrying it out.”
India
