Australia pacer Josh Hazlewood has downplayed concerns regarding the fitness and ageing of the fast-bowling group, insisting that their experience will be the decisive factor when the Ashes begin on November 21 in Perth.
Ahead of the five-match series between Australia and England, much of the discussion has centred on Australia’s ageing bowling attack, with the youngest being the 32-year-old Pat Cummins, who has been ruled out of the Perth Test.
“I feel in the best shape I’ve been in for a long time,” Hazlewood told reporters at the Sydney Cricket Ground on Saturday. “I think the experience, not just through red-ball cricket but across all formats, really comes together. You’ve been in so many situations out in the middle that you’ve learned a lot over the years – not just as an individual but as a group. We bounce off each other and know each other’s games so well, which helps us out there. There’ll come a time (when we move on), no doubt, but I don’t think it’s yet.”
Australia haven’t lost the urn since 2017–18, and the same set of frontline bowlers – Cummins, Hazlewood, Mitchell Starc and Nathan Lyon – have been playing together.
Last summer, Hazlewood couldn’t play all five Tests of the home season as he was injured early in the series. Ahead of the start of the Ashes, Cummins has already been ruled out of the series opener and remains doubtful for the rest of the series. To manage the workload of their fast bowlers, Australia could opt for a rest-and-rotation policy.
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