“It was swinging and bouncing. All the batsmen were playing outrageous shots and getting caught. England watch out, you’re doing the same thing. They’re coming in underdone and our fast bowlers looked fresh and sharp last night.
“Are England going to win a Test? Yes, but I think it will be close, maybe 2-2. Perth is the most important Test. If England lose in Perth they will lose 3-1. Win in Perth it’s 2-2.”
Aged 34 and 35 respectively, Hazlewood and Starc are entering the career phase that has often seen the end for fast bowlers, but the former is insistent that he can play all five Tests this summer.
“That’s the life of a fast bowler, everyone is carrying some sort of niggle,” Hazlewood said of Cummins. “My body feels great right now, I am very confident of getting through all five without any dramas.”
Irrespective of his fitness record, Hazlewood has improved demonstrably with age in terms of his craft and results.
In the first 40 Tests of his career to 2018, Hazlewood took a more than respectable 151 wickets at 26.84, striking every 57.3 balls.
Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood and Mitchell Starc.Credit: AP
But in the most recent 36, Hazlewood has returned figures superior even to those of Cummins, with 144 wickets at 21.45 and a strike rate of 46.9 balls per wicket. At 24.21, Hazlewood’s career Test bowling average is now at its lowest since 2015.
To some degree the stop-start nature of the Perth ODI was a potential banana skin in terms of injuries, and Hazlewood said it had been something of a relief to get through and travel to Adelaide without any setbacks.
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“Those games are always niggly for the quicks,” he said.
“Its a balance of trying to stay warm and in the moment, especially when the breaks are short like that.”
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