Australian pacer Josh Hazlewood is looking forward to playing at least three Ashes Tests against England, with Scott Boland having made a tremendous impact in Australia's thumping 209-run win over India in the final of the World Test Championship at The Oval, taking a total of five wickets in the title clash, including the prized scalp of star batter Virat Kohli, which turned the game in Aussies' favour.
The Ashes series against England will start from June 16 onwards with the first Test at Edgbaston. In the series, history could repeat itself as the one out of Hazlewood (222 Test wickets at an average of 25.83), Mitchell Starc (310 wickets at an average of 27.64) or Scott Boland (33 wickets at an average of 14.57) will have to miss out on the playing XI for the first Test. Hazlewood himself accepts that playing the entire series would be difficult due to his recent injuries, but he does not want to settle for anything less than three matches, as per ESPNCricinfo.
Hazlewood and Starc did not make it to the starting playing XI four years back which featured James Pattinson, Peter Siddle and Pat Cummins. Hazlewood played four games later, taking 20 wickets at an average of 21.85 to help Australia draw the series in England by 2-2 and retain the urn.
"If we go back a few years, I would have said [I expected to play] all six [Tests]. But I guess it is a little bit different now, based on the last two years of history. I think three would be nice pass and four is probably a tick. Any more than that is great. Any less then I am probably a little disappointed again," said Starc as quoted by ESPNCricinfo.
"But I think when you have that depth for each game you [can] really go as hard as you can and then reassess after the game because you always have someone of high quality sitting on the pine and ready to go. So it is a great position to be in for the team," he added.
Hazlewood did not play the WTC final, having played only four Tests in the last two years. He came back home from the India tour back in February-March due to an Achilles injury caused during his comeback match in Sydney Cricket Ground back in January and also withdrew from Indian Premier League (IPL) due to side soreness.
"I think if it was a one-off game I probably could have played. [But] with what is coming up now, it just would have been too big of a risk. This sets me up nicely if I am selected for game one, then we have a nice rest after and we will take it from there," said Starc.
Skipper Pat Cummins said that he wants to feature in all six Tests on this trip to UK, one WTC final and five Ashes Tests. Scott Boland feels it would be tough unless a couple of matches have early finishes. Hazlewood is desperate to make a return to the side after missing so much of long-format cricket but also has tempered expectations.
"Think having those [fast bowling] options helps that mindset. No doubt you still want to play every game and it's hard to sit on the sidelines and watch. No shying away from that," he said.
"But potentially if you [have] back-to-back Tests and you bowl 50 overs and you have someone [like] Boland, Starc or myself on the bench, fresh and ready to go for the next Test, it makes those conversations a little bit easier. The guys are a little bit more open to it to create that longevity. Perhaps the all-format guys are more open to it than others," he added.
Hazlewood also acknowledged that the depth of Australian bowling means that bowlers do not have to push themselves beyond breaking point, "You might miss one or two games with a niggle rather than pushing it and missing three or four months," he said.
The pacer has a strong England record, a total of 36 wickets in eight Tests at an average of 23.58 with an economy rate of 3.10 and best figures of 5/30.
Hazlewood does not need to show his credentials, but there are some doubts about his durability, even if coaches and medical staff have been careful not to link his string of ailments (four of the Tests he missed were also due to weather in Pakistan and Sri Lanka).
He stated that he wanted to make a statement when he returned against South Africa in January, bowling brilliantly and finding reverse swing, only to have his efforts as part of a two-man pace attack sideline him again, but now the predominant mood is one of anticipation.
"I probably felt that maybe a little bit more in Sydney leading into that game. I think in England, my record is pretty good. Pretty confident in these conditions. What is exciting is probably what England has done in the last 18 months. It is what a few of us need to get the best out of ourselves," he said.
After dealing with India to win the World Test Championship, Australia's fast bowlers will sit down over the next 48 overs to prepare their attack on England's batting lineup, but they will not be recreating the wheel. They are familiar with most of the players, but Ben Duckett's figure of just leaving eight deliveries in his Test career captured Hazelwood's curiosity.
"That is quite amazing. Obviously, he likes bat on ball. So [we will] try and use that to our advantage as best we can," said Hazlewood.
"While we are bowling at their batsmen it is about sticking to that six to eight-metre length. Think what we have seen through the numbers in the last 18 months to two years, they are still getting out in similar ways, they are just scoring more runs quickly in between. So it is about sticking to that line and length. If they hit us off that for five Tests then that's good for them," he concluded.
Australia squad: Pat Cummins (c), Scott Boland, Alex Carey (wk), Cameron Green, Marcus Harris, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis (wk), Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Mitch Marsh, Todd Murphy, Matthew Renshaw, Steve Smith (VC), Mitchell Starc, David Warner
England squad: Ben Stokes (c), James Anderson, Jonathan Bairstow, Stuart Broad, Harry Brook, Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Dan Lawrence, Jack Leach, Ollie Pope, Matthew Potts, Ollie Robinson, Joe Root, Josh Tongue, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood.
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