Australia v Pakistan Tests: Josh Hazlewood was courted by Queensland before setting up with NSW

It’s difficult to imagine Josh Hazlewood anything but a NSW Blue but there was a time not so long ago when a cold beer and a juicy steak was part of the temptation to pursue other state allegiances.

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Josh Hazlewood has spoken about the night when a cold beer and a juicy steak were part of a family-wide selling pitch to try and make him a Queensland Bull.

He thought about it for a few “fleeting seconds’’ before heading to Sydney to play for NSW.

When Hazlewood was 17 word of his exceptional promise was relaid to Queensland Cricket by esteemed Brisbane sporting journalist David Falkenmire who, like Hazlewood, hailed from the Tamworth region and was told by his contacts that Queensland should chase the “future Test star’’.

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Josh Hazlewood could have been playing for Queensland.

“(Former Queensland coach) Terry Oliver and (former Queensland captain) Chris Simpson came down to Tamworth and took myself, dad and mum out to dinner,’’ Hazlewood said.

“I was 17. I remember dad ordered a big steak, a big entree, a couple of beers and a nice glass of red ... he made the most of it.

“NSW had not offered anything at that stage. Queensland did and Western Australia made a phone call. Obviously where we lived (Bendemere) we were pretty much in the middle of Sydney and Brissy. I thought about it for a fleeting second.’’

Lanky seamer Hazlewood shapes as the key man in Australia’s game plan to remove Pakistan’s emerging star Babar Azam whom he snared four times in three Tests when Pakistan toured here three years ago.

“It was nothing in particular but I got him caught at second slip twice and lbw twice.

Hazlewood is wary of the impact Babar Azam can make in the Test series.

“Nothing jumps out at you about him. He is a pretty well rounded player. He just probably had not quite taken the step up in Test cricket that he has in white ball cricket.

“But he is seriously a lot better than he was a few years ago.’’

Originally published as Australia v Pakistan Tests: Josh Hazlewood was courted by Queensland before setting up with NSW