Josh Hazlewood powers Royal Challengers Bengaluru into IPL final
Don't miss out on the headlines from Cricket. Followed categories will be added to My News.
Josh Hazlewood showed he's got no issues with his shoulder after snaring three wickets in his first game for a month to help push Royal Challengers Bengaluru into their first Indian Premier League final since 2016.
Having overcome the shoulder issue that he was managing in India, Hazlewood ripped through the Punjab Kings' top order, claiming the prized wicket of captain Shreyas Iyer and then fellow Aussie Josh Inglis, and finished with 3-21.
It was perfect timing for Hazlewood, who is in a one-on-one battle with fellow Test quick Scott Boland for a place in the Australian team for the World Test Championship final at Lord's.
Australian coach Andrew McDonald declared earlier this week that only one of the pair would take on South Africa and was happy with Hazlewood to round out his preparation in India.
'Whatever decision we make, it's never going to be a popular one,' he said.
'We leave Scott Boland out, we polarise Victoria, we leave Josh Hazlewood out, we polarise NSW.
'We see them as a unit, co-exiting and the more they can give each other a bit of reprieve from the rigours of Test cricket, it makes our team all the better.'
Hazlewood will now be the last Australian to arrive in London for the WTC final, but McDonald was happy for him to be playing cricket, confident there was enough time to get red-ball ready.
'We have seven days of training. It will be good to see everyone come back together … it's a muddled mess in terms of the prep,' he told SEN.
'It always causes you unease when there is a T20 tournament right up to the start of the WTC. I'm not saying it's perfect having people all over the world, but we are well versed in preparing players remotely, having guys with us and bringing that all together.
'This has been a two-year journey, right back to the last WTC final. This is a priority for our group, they have zeroed in on it.'
Australia will take on South Africa from June 11.
Originally published as Josh Hazlewood returns from injury lay-off with a bang in India, pushes case for a spot in the World Test Championship final
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Age
39 minutes ago
- The Age
Last lap at Dapto: A community gets ready to farewell a local icon
Every Thursday, 72-year-old Col Pomeroy follows a routine that hasn't changed for nearly half a century. In the morning and afternoon he studies the form guide back to front, then he arrives at Dapto Dogs long before the first race begins. Pomeroy is one of the last regular punters at the track, bound by tradition and community. He points to a large plastic table inside the canteen, where he once met 20 friends each week. Now, he often sits alone. Most of Pomeroy's friends have left the track, due to old age or the change in a place that was once the centrepiece of Australian greyhound racing. Next year, Pomeroy will join them. After 88 years of continuous use, Dapto Greyhounds will close because the site's owners have informed Greyhound Racing NSW that they will not extend their lease beyond June 2026. 'Just knowing that this track is not going to be around any more, it's pretty disappointing,' Pomeroy says. 'It mightn't be important to some people, but for me, and for our family, it's been a buzz for the last 50-odd years. 'It is important because even if you come here, it's not necessarily the race. It's about community, it's about people who you have known for decades. You might win a couple of bucks, but that's not what you come back for; it's a family sport. 'I know progress has got to happen, but it's just going to be bad when that final race happens here.' On a cold Thursday night, the grandstand has few spectators as greyhounds are paraded for the first race at 7pm. The dogs are competing in their maiden race and gaze around the track as they are led out by their owners, dressed in red bibs with their racing numbers. In its heyday, the track could hold almost 3000 spectators. They would come each week to place a bet on the row of local bookmakers. 'Dapto Dogs' gained national recognition with former NSW State of Origin player Terry Hill's comedic crosses from the track during Channel 9's The Footy Show, dressed in a gold jacket, ironically pointing out the best-dressed punters in the grandstand.
Sydney Morning Herald
40 minutes ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
Last lap at Dapto: A community gets ready to farewell a local icon
Every Thursday, 72-year-old Col Pomeroy follows a routine that hasn't changed for nearly half a century. In the morning and afternoon he studies the form guide back to front, then he arrives at Dapto Dogs long before the first race begins. Pomeroy is one of the last regular punters at the track, bound by tradition and community. He points to a large plastic table inside the canteen, where he once met 20 friends each week. Now, he often sits alone. Most of Pomeroy's friends have left the track, due to old age or the change in a place that was once the centrepiece of Australian greyhound racing. Next year, Pomeroy will join them. After 88 years of continuous use, Dapto Greyhounds will close because the site's owners have informed Greyhound Racing NSW that they will not extend their lease beyond June 2026. 'Just knowing that this track is not going to be around any more, it's pretty disappointing,' Pomeroy says. 'It mightn't be important to some people, but for me, and for our family, it's been a buzz for the last 50-odd years. 'It is important because even if you come here, it's not necessarily the race. It's about community, it's about people who you have known for decades. You might win a couple of bucks, but that's not what you come back for; it's a family sport. 'I know progress has got to happen, but it's just going to be bad when that final race happens here.' On a cold Thursday night, the grandstand has few spectators as greyhounds are paraded for the first race at 7pm. The dogs are competing in their maiden race and gaze around the track as they are led out by their owners, dressed in red bibs with their racing numbers. In its heyday, the track could hold almost 3000 spectators. They would come each week to place a bet on the row of local bookmakers. 'Dapto Dogs' gained national recognition with former NSW State of Origin player Terry Hill's comedic crosses from the track during Channel 9's The Footy Show, dressed in a gold jacket, ironically pointing out the best-dressed punters in the grandstand.
West Australian
an hour ago
- West Australian
Aussie Harper wins and Yates rides into pink at Giro
Australian Chris Harper has won the penultimate stage of the Giro d'Italia with the ride of his life - but he was still happy to play second fiddle to his one-time British teammate Simon Yates, who sensationally exploded the race to grab almost certain overall victory. Harper, a 30-year-old stalwart for Australian team Jayco AlUla, enjoyed his first ever individual grand tour victory with an epic solo effort on the brutal 20th 'queen' stage from Verres to Sestriere, conquering one of cycling's most brutal climbs, the Colle delle Finestre, to battle home alone one minute 49 seconds clear of the field. It was a wondrous moment for Harper, a fine 12-year pro, as he rode clear of a breakaway near the top of the climb on Saturday and then held on for his first race victory for nearly six years, as an incredible story was building behind him. His ex-Jayco teammate Yates, now at Team Visma-Lease a Bike, dropped race leader Isaac del Toro on the Finestre with another monumental ride to clinch the leader's pink jersey with just one flat, largely ceremonial flat stage left. Yates, who'd started the day 1min 21sec adrift, ended it 3:56 ahead of del Toro and 4:43 ahead of Richard Carapaz, and he'll ride into Rome with a second grand tour title in the bag. The great irony is that 32-year-old Yates, a former Vuelta winner, had lost the Giro to Chris Froome by cracking on the same climb seven years ago when he was with the Jayco team known then as Mitchelton-Scott. Sunday's redemption ride left the Briton sobbing with joy. "I don't know what I'm happier about, though, getting a stage win or seeing Yatesy win pink. He's an awesome guy, I had the pleasure of racing with him for a couple of seasons and I don't think anyone deserves the pink jersey more than him," said Harper. "It means a lot for me to win on this stage. It's such a famous climb and I'm pretty proud to win the stage here. It's a super challenging one, and I'm really happy I could pull it off." "Mentally and physically it's been a challenging Giro," added Adelaide rider Harper, who became Australia's third stage winner of the 2025 Giro after Kaden Groves took the sixth stage and another Jayco man Luke Plapp soloed away in the eighth. "I came here looking for GC (the general classification) and I was feeling good in the first week, but then got sick on the second rest day. "I started to feel pretty bad and ended up on antibiotics, and then slipped off of the GC. After that, I was looking for a stage win." It came in dramatic fashion as he made one key push with 16km left and then finally rode his last challenger, runner-up Alessandro Verre (Arkea-B&B Hotels), off his wheel. Harper still couldn't be sure of the win, though, with Yates catching him fast in third place. "I asked the (team) car one last time how big the gap was, I knew Simon was coming, I wasn't super confident. Only once I got to about 1.5km to go, I knew I could hold on. It was a bit of a relief. "When the route was released I always had in the back of my mind to try and do something here and close the chapter, let's say," said Yates. "I'm still a bit speechless really."
