Josh Hazlewood fit and firing for Australian return
Josh Hazlewood's trust in "the Australian way" of aggressive cricket is unwavering as he prepares for an international recall in one of the most intriguing summers in history.
Hazlewood bowled 20 overs to Pat Cummins' 21 as they helped the ACT/NSW Country Comets secure a memorable 95-run win over Western Australia in the Futures League at Chisholm Oval on Thursday.
Now the Australian spearheads have set their sights on a return from injury in the international arena against South Africa in a one-day series, to which the Cape Town ball tampering saga will be an interesting subplot.
The fallout from the Test series earlier this year was the catalyst for change in Australian cricket, but Hazlewood won't be making wholesale changes in a national side taking baby steps into a new era.
"It’s still playing the Australian way with pretty aggressive cricket and it’s just about tinkering with a few things here and there on and off the field," Hazlewood said.
"I think we’ve got a great group moving forward and there are a few spots still open moving forward, so whoever gets those and puts their hands up deserves them, and we’ll have a form team going into the first Test.
"There’s a few that have come in in the UAE and there could well be some [more debuts] in the Australian summer. The bowling is pretty much settled, we know each other’s roles pretty well.
"It’s just about getting those batters in and I’m sure whoever they pick will do a great job."
Pressure is mounting on Australian vice-captain Mitch Marsh and his brother Shaun Marsh after the duo's lean run continued in the Test series against Pakistan.
Glenn Maxwell is waiting in the wings while Matt Renshaw is poised to earn a recall should Usman Khawaja fail to recover in time following his latest injury setback.
But one thing that won't need tinkering with is the bowling attack Australia's greatest off-spinner Nathan Lyon dubs "the best in the world".
While they do boast some of cricket's most imposing quicks and a crafty tweaker surging up the nation's all-time wicket takers list, Hazlewood says Australia have some work to do before earning that distinction.
"There’s a few good attacks out there. South Africa and England in their own environment are very good attacks, and even India in their own environment," Hazlewood said.
"Everyone knows their conditions and bowls to their conditions very well, it’s about performing away from home and really dominating all surfaces.
"Then you can call yourselves the best."
Hazlewood will lock horns with two of those attacks this summer with the Proteas playing a one-day international series followed by a Twenty20, while India will take pride of place in the biggest Tests of the summer.
It makes the leafy surrounds of Chisholm Oval a vital stop on the comeback trail, with Hazlewood and Cummins both confident they are now ready to shoulder heavier workloads in the international arena.
The Comets pulled off what was almost unthinkable when they rolled Western Australia on the final day to secure their second consecutive win following an early declaration from ACT/NSW Country skipper Jay Lenton.
Cummins claimed 1-23 from six overs while Hazlewood notched up 0-14 from five, leaving ACT products Tom Engelbrecht (4-69) and Ben Taylor (3-106) to do the bulk of the damage.
Hazlewood earned high praise from coach Kyle Piper after he carried drinks for two hours in the early stages of the match, shouldering a role that many high-level players may think they are above.
"Obviously I’ll increase the workload as the summer goes on but everything feels in a pretty good place. The back feels really good, now it’s just about playing some cricket," Hazlewood said.
"It’s good to have a good hitout and 20-odd overs each week. This is obviously a pretty good wicket to bat on so it was hard work, but I probably needed it so it was good.
"I reckon the group was really good, some good blokes in there. They play a lot of cricket together, they’re a tight unit, some of them live together. It was a good environment and they’ve won a couple on the trot, hopefully they keep winning and have a good year."
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