New Delhi, Aug 31 (IANS) Australia fast bowler Josh Hazlewood is targeting a busy run of one-day cricket to maintain his bowling intensity and build towards October’s Test series in South Africa, saying he wants to play as much as possible after making a successful return to Test action against Bangladesh.
Hazlewood is expected to feature in Australia’s ODI squads for the upcoming tours of Zimbabwe and South Africa, with the squads set to be announced on Tuesday. The experienced quick has identified playing potentially two matches in each three-game series as an ideal way to prepare for the challenges ahead.
“I think still the best way forward for me is to play as much as I can (within) reason. We’ve got two ODI series before that Test match series, so it might be playing two out of three in both of those. I think once you’re at that intensity, which we’re all at now, (it) is trying to maintain that as best we can,” Hazlewood told reporters at the launch of Play Cricket Week in Sydney, as quoted by Cricinfo.
The upcoming white-ball fixtures offer Hazlewood an opportunity to continue building on his encouraging return against Bangladesh. He claimed seven wickets in the first Test in Darwin, his first appearance in the format for more than a year, before again bowling impressively in the quickfire two-day Test in Mackay, where he took one wicket.
After an extended period of preparation before the Bangladesh series, Hazlewood said he was particularly satisfied with how his body had responded to the workload.
“I’m very pleased with where I’m at physically. (I’ve) done a lot of work, probably the 10 weeks leading into that series; it was probably our last big training block before what’s to come. Very pleased to come out the other side pretty much unscathed,” he added.
Australia’s white-ball plans across Zimbabwe and South Africa are expected to vary, with Pat Cummins, who remains the official ODI captain, likely to feature only in the South Africa leg.
Selection decisions could also be influenced by Australia’s concurrent Australia A red-ball tour of India, with some players potentially prioritised for that programme as preparations begin for the five-match Border-Gavaskar series in January and February.
The Test squad for South Africa is expected to be named early next week, with attention also focused on the fitness of South Africa pace spearhead Kagiso Rabada, who is facing a race against time to recover from a hamstring injury after being ruled out of the ODI series.
Hazlewood acknowledged that the full extent of Rabada’s injury remains unclear but said Australia would not underestimate the South African fast bowler’s ability to recover quickly.
“We don’t know exactly how bad the hamstring is. He seems to recover from any sort of niggle pretty quickly. He’s an unbelievable athlete. So I guess we don’t think about it too much this far out. Things will become clearer as we get closer. But I’m sure the batters would rather face someone else than KG,” the pacer stated.
Meanwhile, fellow pace bowler Michael Neser remains hopeful of recovering in time to be considered for the South Africa Test tour as he continues his rehabilitation from a calf injury sustained while training ahead of the Bangladesh series.
“(I’m) actually ahead of schedule. Neser said after signing a new two-year BBL deal with Brisbane Heat. “I had another scan and results came back very good, so I’m progressing quite nicely.
“South Africa is still on the cards and still what I’m aiming for. Obviously, it hasn’t been picked yet, but if all goes well with rehab and everything, I’ll be fit and ready for that.”
While Neser may not be an automatic choice in Australia’s starting XI, his return would provide the selectors with valuable pace-bowling depth alongside Hazlewood, Cummins, Mitchell Starc and Scott Boland.
–IANS
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