It’s not been an easy year for Josh Hazlewood. After suffering a back injury post the tour of India, the Aussie pacer was overlooked for the World Cup squad as the selectors wanted to preserve him for the Ashes that begins in August.
But before that, he will be seen in action as Australia ‘A’ begin their tour of England on the sidelines of the ongoing World Cup. The tour that includes five limited-overs games and three four-day matches will begin on Friday with Australia ‘A’ taking on Northamptonshire at The County Ground in Northamptonshire.
Looking forward to the tour, Hazlewood ’s long-time team-mate Kurtis Patterson feels that the pacer will ‘explode’ on the tour. “Big 'Joshy' is really hungry at the moment. It’s really good to see. Personally, I think his rhythm is as good as it's ever been. I think he's going to really explode for these first few one-dayers and when he gets that Dukes ball in his hand, it's going to be really exciting to see,” Patterson was quoted as telling cricket.com.au.
Hazlewood hasn't played at the international level since the New Year's Test, after which he succumbed to the injury. His subsequent time out of the game and a lack of match practice was behind him initially missing out on Australia’s World Cup squad, and then again when Kane Richardson replaced Jhye Richardson on the eve of the team’s departure.
While Hazlewood has been out of action for almost six months, Patterson himself has failed to find quality playing time since his Test debut against Sri Lanka where he scored a fine century in the Canberra Test in February.
However, with the Ashes approaching fast, the New South Wales player is eager to impress. “Looking back on it (international debut), it was a great summer for me and my family and all my close supporters, being able to play for Australia. I guess it's one of those odd ones, you just want more. I'm really motivated to keep doing what I need to do to be there playing for Australia and win games for Australia 'A' to start,” he said.
Feature image courtesy: AFP Photo/ William West
