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Josh Hazlewood believes he remains “on track” to feature in Australia’s T20 World Cup opener in Sri Lanka next month, despite the stop-start summer that cost him an Ashes appearance and a run in the Big Bash.
The 35-year-old seamer missed the entire Test series in England after a hamstring strain and then suffered an Achilles flare-up during rehabilitation. Those setbacks rule him out of the Sixers’ end-of-season push and the three T20Is against Pakistan in late January, yet he is pencilled in for a warm-up fixture early in February. Australia’s first group game – against Ireland on 11 February – affords him an extra cushion.
“Everything’s going to plan,” Hazlewood said this week. “We took a few extra weeks once we couldn’t make the Test matches. I had a couple of bowls off the half-run last week. Running’s going well, all the strength stuff’s going well so, yeah, on track.”
Selectors want every member of the 15-man squad ready to play from day one. Pat Cummins could be held back if he needs more time, but carrying two under-done bowlers is unlikely. Chair of selectors George Bailey hinted as much when discussing the make-up of the pace unit.
Fitness puzzle
Hazlewood has managed just one uninterrupted home summer since 2020-21. That solitary clear run – a ten-Test stretch between mid-2023 and the opening match of the 2024-25 India series – was followed quickly by calf and side strains. Last winter he squeezed four Tests into a month, including the World Test Championship final and three matches in the West Indies, hinting at a workload that may have pushed close to the edge.
The right-armer accepts the medical team have explored common threads linking his side complaints, though he views the hamstring episode as “bad luck” and the Achilles soreness as an extension of ankle niggles he has long managed.
“Sometimes, when one thing goes and the other thing resurfaces,” he said. “But it [the ankle] was probably another thing I’d been just managing over the last few years, and then it just creeps up. I guess when you start back up, sometimes your body doesn’t like that stopping and getting it going [again]. So probably not as much of a dive into these two little niggles.”
Form before the fall
Prior to breaking down, Hazlewood enjoyed a strong white-ball series in India in October, then delivered three consecutive days of Shield bowling at the SCG, suggesting his rhythm was back. Victoria coach Chris Rogers, who watched from the opposite balcony, recalled the spell as “classic Hoff – hard lengths, no freebies, and the ball jagging just enough”.
That heavy Shield load, though, preceded the hamstring strain. Hazlewood admits he might tweak things when red-ball cricket rolls round again – most likely the Test tour to Bangladesh in August.
“My gym and everything is still mostly the same, but I think purely from a bowling workload, leading into the next red-ball game, do as much as we can in terms of just dicing it up a little bit differently,” he said.
Bowling coach Daniel Vettori is open to a staggered plan. “Josh knows his body as well as anyone in our group,” Vettori noted. “If that means shorter, sharper spells and a bigger focus on recovery blocks, that’s what we’ll pursue.”
Cup calculation
Australia head to Sri Lanka aiming to defend the title won in the West Indies four years ago. Conditions are expected to lean towards spin, yet selectors still want at least two senior quicks in the XI. Cummins and Mitchell Starc are locks; Hazlewood, when fully fit, balances the trio.
Former captain Aaron Finch, part of the commentary team this season, feels Hazlewood’s accuracy is vital. “Josh takes the cut shot away on slower decks because he hits that fourth-stump channel so often,” Finch said. “It lets your spinner attack from the other end.”
Work-in-progress
In the meantime Hazlewood will increase his run-ups in Sydney, interspersed with strength sessions. Sport scientist David Beakley expects a gradual ramp-up: “He’s at the stage where overs matter more than kilometres. If he can bank three or four four-over spells at near-match tempo, we’ll be satisfied.”
A short stint with the Sixers had been floated, although head coach Greg Shipperd confirmed it is off the table. “We’d love to have him, but international priorities come first and we don’t want to hurry his timeline,” Shipperd said.
What next?
If the plan holds, Hazlewood flies to Colombo at the start of next month, bowls his allotted overs in the single warm-up, then joins Starc and Cummins in the Ireland match. Australia’s second group game, against Afghanistan on 15 February, sits just four days later; clear evidence Hazlewood cannot afford a relapse.
The right-armer is optimistic yet realistic. “The schedule gives me a chance, but it’s still about ticking everything off,” he said. “A T20 World Cup’s not something you want to miss.”
For a player who has carried the tag of metronomic reliability, recent disruptions have been frustrating. Nonetheless his belief remains intact, and, crucially, the medical bulletins are positive. Should Hazlewood complete his comeback, Australia’s attack will look familiar, balanced and – selectors hope – durable enough for another tilt at global success.
