Australia boast of vast fast bowling resources and it is not very often that a bowler plays all three formats for them consistently. Josh Hazlewood, who has had a successful Test career till now having bagged 195 wickets in 51 appearances, hasn’t had the opportunity to play as much white-ball cricket as some of his other counterparts like Mitchell Starc and Pat Cummins.
But the 29-year-old has been included in the squad for the three-match ODI series against India, and if he manages to perform well there, it could just open the gates for him to be in the World T20 squad too. Currently playing in the BBL, Hazlewood is working on his white-ball variations that could help him cement a place in the limited-overs formats.
“It’s just having those time to work on those variations,” Hazlewood told cricket.com.au. “We often face what Patty and Starcy are going to face, coming straight from red-ball cricket into white-ball cricket and maybe not have as much time to work on those variations and yorkers and those kind of things.
“It could be a blessing in disguise for this tour having these couple of (BBL) games.”
Bagged by CSK for Rs 2 crore, Hazlewood feels that it’s just about getting enough opportunities with the white ball, to be able to cement a place in the team. This, despite the fact he faces stiff competition from other bowlers.
“(My limited-overs) record is pretty good, it’s just about getting that consistent white-ball cricket, whether it’s one-day or T20. We’ve got a few tours coming so hopefully I can put a few games together,” said Hazlewood.
“(Cummins and Starc) have played all three formats for quite a while and I’ve in and out of the white-ball stuff.
“There’s some quality bowlers – Kane Richardson and Jhye Richardson have been doing a quality job, we’ve got (Nathan) Coulter-Nile there, so there’s some great depth. There’s a lot of quicks doing good things.”
Even Australia ODI and T20I skipper Aaron Finch sounded confident of Hazlewood’s abilities, and backed the latter to come out good in shorter formats.
“The great thing about him is how consistent he is,” Finch said of Hazlewood.
“When he first came into the Australian cricket team in Test cricket, people said he couldn’t make it as a one-day or a T20 bowler because he’s too consistent.
“But he’s hard to hit and people have found him hard to hit for 10 years now. That’s a great asset to bring back into the squad, someone who’s so accurate.
“His form before he got injured was really good too in all forms of the game.”
