‘I haven't lost a Test at Lord's before': Josh Hazlewood sets sights on first WTC final for Australia vs South Africa
Josh Hazlewood can simply wake up anywhere in the world and automatically hit those probing lengths in the channel against the batters. Only four days since lifting his second IPL title with the Royal Challengers Bengaluru in Ahmedabad, the 34-year-old Hazlewood is hopeful of making his Test comeback against South Africa in the ICC World Test Championship final at Lord's on Wednesday, having missed out on red-ball action since an injury in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy last year.
The metronomic right-arm pacer also missed Australia's WTC final triumph in 2023 against India at the Oval, with Scott Boland taking his spot in the vaunted Australian bowling attack.
'I will probably nail down a few more overs tomorrow and then over the next few days, tick a lot of boxes,' Hazlewood told the ICC ahead of the team's training session on Saturday.
'I ticked over some good overs just before the (IPL) Final in Ahmedabad in different weather than this, and it was quite a tough session,' he added.
Hazlewood's return is not exactly straight-forward with the tall pacer facing some challenge from Boland, with skipper Pat Cummins, left-armer Mitchell Starc and spin legend Nathan Lyon marking definite spots.
'Everyone looks in good shape,' Hazlewood said of his bowling teammates.
'We've all been in different parts of the world playing or training over the last couple of months, so it's good to get everyone together and catch up with everyone yesterday and the day before and get all on the same page moving forward.'
Hazlewood is banking on his superb English record to get ahead of his peers. Of his 279 Test wickets in 72 matches since his debut in 2014, 52 wickets have come in England across three tours in 2015, '17 and '23 at a superb 44.3 strike rate, nearly 10 balls better than his career overalls. Hazlewood also holds a prolific record at Lord's, nabbing 13 wickets in three appearances without defeat at the iconic venue.
'Any time I bowl in England I'm reasonably confident,' Hazlewood remarked.
'I've had some good tours here over the last 10 years and Lord's in particular.
'I haven't lost before at Lord's yet as a player, certainly in red-ball cricket for sure and we have had a couple of good wins there over the years.'
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