Josh Hazlewood's savage swipe at England Ashes move: 'Surprised me'
The fast bowler thinks England's Ashes move could play right into Australia's hands.
Australian cricket star Josh Hazlewood has delivered England a massive warning ahead of the Ashes after insisting the hosts' plan to produce flat and fast wickets could actually play into the visitors' hands. The first of the five-Test series gets underway at Edgbaston on Friday, with the Aussies going into the series full of confidence after beating India at The Oval to win the World Test Championship (WTC) trophy.
The Test final provided Australia with a stern examination against one of the best sides in the world, in English conditions and with the Dukes balls that will feature in the Ashes series. Conversely, England's preparations for the series saw Ben Stokes' men seal a thumping win over minnows Ireland in a one-off Test at Lord's.
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Australia are set to get their first look at the Edgbaston pitch on Tuesday afternoon, but will not get a proper picture of how it has been prepared until closer to day one of the first Test. Curators insist they are preparing the wicket as per usual and without interference from England's governing body, but Stokes' men have made it clear for weeks how they want the pitches to play throughout the series.
Adopting their famed 'Bazball' approach, England's batters have scored runs at a busy Test rate of 4.85 an over in the past year. Stokes says key to that aggressive approach for his side's batters is for curators to produce fast wickets designed for quick scoring.
Josh Hazlewood says fast wickets could backfire on England
However, Hazlewood says that approach from England could backfire on the home side, with Australia used to playing on quicker wickets and enjoying impressive rates of scoring at home. The towering quick - fit again after being rested from the WTC final due to ongoing side soreness - was quick to remind England about their unflattering recent history in Ashes series in Australia, playing on similarly fast wickets.
"It surprised me when (Stokes made his pitch request). It might have been a furphy, who knows," Hazlewood told AAP. "But if I am England, I am probably going the opposite way.
"You are probably going green wickets that are doing a fair bit, and then back yourself to make more runs than us on those types of wickets. "They come to Australia and the wickets are harder, flatter and faster. And we've seen the results."
Josh Hazlewood battling to break back into Aussie XI
Despite being a mainstay of Australia's pace attack for years, Hazlewood faces a tough task breaking back into the side with Scott Boland making himself almost undroppable after starring in the WTC final against India. With skipper Pat Cummins and spinner Nathan Lyon's places also assured, it could leave Hazlewood in a straight shoot-out with Mitchell Starc for the final specialist bowling spot.
Edgbaston already looms as a fast-scoring venue to open the series, with runs scored at a quicker rate there than any other regular English Test ground this century. That could see Aussie selectors lean towards the more economical Hazlewood, although the left-arm brute pace of Starc offers the Aussie attack more variety.
Aussie Test great Jason Gillespie agrees with Hazlewood though, that any attempt to produce batter-friendly wickets could backfire on England. "We know England's strength is playing on surfaces that all of their players have grown up playing on," Gillespie said.
"That they have adjusted to and grown up playing with the Dukes ball. I find it interesting that is the way they will go."
Australia have won 13 of the last 15 Ashes Tests played on home turf, with the other two ending in draws. In contrast, England have not lost a home Ashes series on their seaming pitches since 2001, with Cummins describing the challenge facing his side in England as "legacy-defining".
with AAP
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