Australia ace speedster Josh Hazlewood is fit and will be taking part in at least three Tests in Ashes, starting from Friday at Edgbaston. The 32-year-old has only taken part in two Test games in the last 15 months because of an injury and as a result most of the time he was left out of the squad. He did not even take part in the recently passed WTC final 2023 in which his team Australia outplayed India at The Oval on Sunday.
“If we go back a few years, I would have said all six,” Hazlewood told reporters on Tuesday.
“But I guess it’s a little bit different now, based on the last two years. Three would be a nice pass and four is probably a tick. Any more than that is great, any less then I am probably a little disappointed again.”
Since Hazlewood is fit, Australian team management is tensed ahead of the five-test series against England with pacers like Scott Boland, Mitchell Starc, and Hazlewood fighting for two spots in a pace attack led by skipper Pat Cummins.
Boland had a great WTC final as he starred with the ball, picking five wickets in the game.
“When you have that depth … you really go as hard as you can and then reassess after the game. You always have someone of high quality sitting on the pine and ready to go”, Hazlewood said.
“The emergence of Boland and seam-bowling all-rounder Cameron Green could actually help prolong his career, he added.
“You might miss one or two games with a niggle now, rather than pushing it and missing three or four months. We probably played 20 or 30 tests with no all-rounder, and that was pretty tough yards for a few years.”
“If we have a group of four or five quicks we can go together for longer,” he stated.