Josh Hazlewood – The Modern-day Glenn McGrath of Australia
If a task has been assigned to someone where an individual has to paint every possible dot in the area of the fourth and the fifth stump channel whose ideal size will be the exact circumference of a red cherry then there are baffling chances that one might only cite his entire work based on the pitch map of Josh Hazlewood.
Often called as a modern-day Glenn McGrath who perhaps has been Hazlewood’s idol, there are some utter manifestations when it comes to depicting the spirit of oneness with his mentor McGrath.
The similarities start with height along with an unwrinkled run-up which gets more polished the more they bowl whose mere intent is to exhibit accuracy than pace. Both men made their inception at the age of 23 in international cricket and the disciple Hazlewood, when it comes to reaching his 100-wicket mark, achieved in its 46th inning which is just one inning slower than his mentor.
The crux of this mentor-disciple relationship moment transpired during Hazlewood’s debut when his baggy green cap was allocated to him by Glenn McGrath on India’s tour of Australia in 2014-15 which also made him fetch a five-wicket haul at The Gabba, Brisbane.
5️⃣ Overs
3️⃣ Maidens
8️⃣ Runs
5️⃣ WicketsJosh Hazlewood is a menace ? pic.twitter.com/VCn3v1Icgq
— Cricket on BT Sport (@btsportcricket) December 19, 2020
Hazlewood’s innate ability of routinely landing the ball in the channel of fourth and fifth stump along with movement makes him a buoyant commodity for the captains who can constantly build pressure even on the flattest of decks. The illustration of this actual pursuit was well showcased in the recent Australia’s limited-overs tour to England when in the first ODI while chasing a stiff target of 295, England’s score in the first 10-overs was cramped to 22-2 which is completely an elusive affair when associated with ‘Captain Morgan’s’ England.
The principal reason why batsmen find him as a difficult customer to handle is because of his exorbitant bounce which he extracts from the wicket especially if the pitches are of Australian nature. Because of the accessible bounce, playing the drive thus becomes a faulty shot whose only return might be the nick into the keeper’s hands.
The pace which wasn’t his greatest characteristics especially in his initial years of international cricket has now become an added incentive in his bowling. Making the batsman face chin music is now an eminent feature as it helps Hazlewood to trap a batsman who often anticipates a three-quarter length from him. All in all, he becomes that kind of bowler who will always keep the personnel busy when positioned behind the stumps.
As of now Hazlewood’s stats in Test Cricket can still be called as a work in progress especially when spliced with his calibre. The speedster as of now has played 52 matches and has 201 wickets which include an average of 25.69. His recent heroics in the Adelaide Day-Night Test helped him get to the 200-wicket mark.
If India’s Cheteshwar Pujara is termed as the most classical batsman in the longest format then irrefutably Josh Hazlewood is the most classical fast bowler in Test cricket at the moment.
