Josh Hazlewood a serious weapon on West Indies and Ashes tours after proving fighting quality
PERHAPS the most telling moment of Josh Hazlewood’s remarkable rise was his Brisbane breakdown and how he proved himself a fighter.
Josh Hazlewood couldn’t function. But he found a way.
Among all the highlights of last summer, perhaps the most telling moment for Hazlewood was his Brisbane breakdown.
It showed what this kid from Bendemeer in country NSW is made of.
Hazlewood claimed his first five-wicket haul in a one-day international in November, made his Test debut in Brisbane in December, then finished up running around the MCG as a World Cup winner in March.
Not bad for a tall pace bowler with a history of injury problems who has for several years drawn comparisons with Glenn McGrath because of his ability to hit a good length.
When his Test debut came on December 17 last year, it was McGrath who presented his baggy green cap.
Before the first day’s play of the second Test against India at the Gabba was complete, Australia’s debutant quick had gone down with body cramp in the heatwave conditions.
“He was cramping everywhere,” team physio Alex Kountouris said after play.
Both calves, both hamstrings, groins, hips, he just couldn’t function.
“You could see his pace was down when he came back and bowled and he showed some courage to do that. Every ball he bowled he was just cramping up in multiple places.
“We expect him to be bowling tomorrow.”
Hazlewood took 5/68 and 2/74 in the match, sharing the new ball with Mitchell Johnson.
He had proven himself to be a fighter.
He soon became so valuable that Cricket Australia’s team performance manager Pat Howard decided that a stint in the Indian Premier League in April/May might not be the best way to get the NSW quick prepared for the upcoming Test tours of West Indies and England.
“Around the fourth Test (against India in January) we’d seen that Josh’s world had changed significantly,” Howard told the Herald Sun earlier this month.
“He’d had increased white-ball cricket but then Test cricket as well. For a body aged 24, it was important that we proactively communicated with the IPL collectively and the teams to say it is probably not the right answer for him this year.
“In the future that’s fine, allowing the body to get stronger.
“So with the Ashes in mind, particularly (35-year-old) Ryan Harris and Josh Hazlewood were ones where we took the opportunity to look after them and have the guys hitting the ground running come the winter.
“Ultimately what the guys do in their leave is their call. If they go and play IPL, that’s their call.”
Hazlewood sits in an office at the National Cricket Centre in Brisbane, his hair wet and his face freshly scrubbed after a net session with Australia’s bowling coach Craig McDermott.
His enthusiasm for the game is all-powerful. If a recent suggestion that some of Australia’s top cricketers aren’t in love with the sport is true, it doesn’t apply to Hazlewood.
His family Christmas memories revolve around watching Shane Warne and McGrath and company carve up touring teams.
“The bowling attack was unbelievable with McGrath, Brett Lee, Warne and Jason Gillespie,” Hazlewood told the Herald Sun.
“Growing up, Australia dominated pretty much everyone for that 10-year period so that’s what we’ve got to try to get back to and follow in their footsteps.”
Hazlewood was happy enough to skip the lucrative IPL and keep his eyes on the main prize.
“It was a tough decision. Cricket Australia made it more so than myself,” Hazlewood says.
“But I think looking back now it was probably the right decision with so much cricket coming up and red-ball cricket at that.
“The IPL is quite good to get used to the Indian conditions and it’s very tough cricket. I’m definitely looking to play it in the future.”
Reflecting on last summer, Hazlewood’s face breaks into a grin.
“I was excited to get picked against South Africa in that one-day series and to do quite well in that, I was over the moon,” he says.
“And then one thing led to another and I ended up playing three Tests and to win a World Cup at home, I ticked off a few boxes last summer.
“It was more than I expected. It just happened so quickly ...
“I feel like I’ve played more and more cricket each summer. But in saying that, I’ve always had some sort of niggle or injury.
“Once you start getting going and feel like you’re really going well, something just hits you and puts you back a few months or puts you back a few places in the pecking order.
“The main thing is continuous cricket, that extended run on the park. You can just get better and better and keep improving.
“To get through a whole summer and play the amount of cricket I did, I’m pretty happy with that.”
McDermott says while many are tipping Hazlewood to thrive in English conditions, he has the game to have an impact on low, slow Caribbean decks.
“He bowls a good length. He can bowl straight if we need him to bowl stump to stump which may be needed in the West Indies,” McDermott says.
“If the ball’s swinging, he can adjust his bowling at will.”
Originally published as Josh Hazlewood a serious weapon on West Indies and Ashes tours after proving fighting quality
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