Josh Hazlewood is certain that Australia’s pace-bowler hierarchy is still in place despite having only participated in three Tests since the start of the last home season. But he admits that this period, which should have been his prime years as a fast bowler, has been difficult.
A side injury he suffered during the first game of the series at the Gabba ended his Test season. He had a similar issue this season against the West Indies in Perth. Because he didn’t feel quite ready to play again, Hazlewood withdrew from the Boxing Day Test in Melbourne; however, he is now prepared to play in Sydney.
The selection may not be as easy as it once would have been when Hazlewood, Mitchell Starc, and Pat Cummins were the locked-in big three and now each have taken more than 200 Test wickets between them, despite the fact that he is expected to start on his home field in an attack without the injured Mitchell Starc and Cameron Green.
Hazlewood believes that the bowling pecking order is still in place. Given that the Ashes are also drawing up and that he bowls similarly to Pat and I do, he is thinking about going. We may all play there together on a surface that might seam and swing.
There is also a chance that Australia will choose uncapped fast Lance Morris to replace Starc at the SCG. The selection process’ most crucial concerns, however, are still unresolved, and the peculiarities of the pitch continue to cast doubt on whether two spinners will be selected for the first time since 2016–17.
Even if Hazlewood returns on Wednesday, Starc’s fitness heading into Australia’s planned deployment of two frontline spinners for the most of the India tour may have a significant impact on how long he remains in the starting lineup. In Sri Lanka and Pakistan, the pace options were Starc, Cummins, and Green.
Hazlewood, a multi-format bowler, will look at his workload and preparation for Test cricket in the long run in an effort to avoid more injury setbacks. The fact that the adverse effects, which only required a few weeks of relaxation, happened in the middle of the campaign was regretted, he did add.
Without a doubt, it is frustrating, he said. “It just so happens to have happened after the first Test, which is the worst time of year; I don’t feel like I’ve been wounded all that much. The Test matches are now separated so far apart. With the exception of it, I have been in good health and am prepared to work for the next 24 months. As a result, it is aggravating when you think about it that way.”