Aussies' square pegs, round hole dilemma

Josh Hazlewood says the competition for spots amongst Australia's fast bowlers is consistently raising the bar ahead of the resumption of Ashes hostilities in a month's time.

Hazlewood was one of the stars for Australia on the opening day of the first Test against the West Indies, taking three top-order wickets and bowling seven maidens to help rout the Windies for 148 inside two sessions.

Quick Single: Aussies dominate Dominica day one

Hazlewood (3-33) and the two Mitchells – Johnson (3-34) and Starc (2-48) – worked beautifully in tandem at Windsor Park as Australia moved into a strong position after their first day of Test cricket for almost five months.

The trio, who helped bowl Australia to victory in the World Cup final just over two months ago, are part of one of the most feared fast-bowling attacks in the world and will no doubt be difficult for England to handle when the first Test gets underway in Cardiff on July 8.

And when you consider Ryan Harris will link with this group in the UK later this month, and Peter Siddle is on the sidelines here in Dominica, Australia’s selectors will have a tough time trimming the group of five quicks down to three.

"There's plenty of competition for spots which I think is a good thing," Hazlewood said. "It keeps you on your toes and keeps bringing out the best in the bowlers that are picked for each individual game.

"Obviously the three quicks we've got now playing and we've got Peter Siddle on the sideline with plenty of Test experience and Ryan Harris to come back in.

"It's just knowing your role and knowing what I need to do – obviously the two Mitches are quite attacking in the way they go about things, (so) I think mine’s just about building the pressure from my end and taking the odd wicket here and there.

"Then they can come on and pick up the tail or pick up a couple of quick ones as Mitch usually does.

"We're working very well together, whether it's one-day cricket or Test cricket as we saw today."

It wasn't the brightest of starts from Johnson and Starc on the first morning; the left-armers conceded 43 runs from eight overs between them from the River End, while Hazlewood took 1-17 from his first six overs.

But the trio clicked into gear, particularly during the second session when they shared six of the seven wickets that fell for just 63 runs.

Hazlewood said it was easy to forgive his fast-bowling partners for their slow start given today was their first taste of first-class cricket since the fourth Test against India in early January.

The duo missed last week's practice match in Antigua to allow them to recover from their stint in the Indian Premier League, while Hazlewood starred against a West Indies President's XI with match figures of 5-30, including 3-4 in the second innings.

Hazlewood and Cricket Australia decided to withdraw the quick from the IPL to enable him to recover from Australia's World Cup triumph and fit in a solid period of training at the Bupa National Cricket Centre in Brisbane before flying to the Caribbean.

It's a move that is proving to be a masterstroke, while the decision to allow Johnson and Starc to build up in the nets in Antigua instead of during the practice match is also appearing a wise one.

"We bowled well as a group," Hazlewood said. "(It was) probably a little bit of a sluggish start but you'd expect that with the two Mitches, (who) haven't had as much bowling with the red ball.

"I think it was about getting the bowlers from the right ends as well.

"The breeze was sort of swinging around a little bit and didn't always favour the left-hander from the top end or vice versa.

"We probably bowled straight early, attacked the pegs, but you've just got to be patient, bowl that fourth-stump line, which we did after lunch and picked up a few wickets."

There was vindication too for selectors Darren Lehmann and Mark Waugh, who opted against a two-man spin attack despite history at this ground suggesting the pitch would favour the slower bowlers.

While there was some turn on the opening day – and there is sure to be more on a dry surface that will bake under forecasted temperatures of around 32 degrees for the rest of the week – Hazlewood said there was enough in the surface for the quicks as well.

"I thought we were always going to go with three quicks," he said. "Just the way we've all been bowling in the last few days leading up to the game.

"I was pretty confident I was going to get a game and it turned out being a pretty good call.

"Probably the bounce surprised me, but I haven't played in the West Indies before this tour.

"I was happy with the bounce I could get so you could still bowl that fourth-stump line that we do in Australia, get those edges and have the left-armers as well bowling the same line.

"That was probably the one thing that surprised me a little bit, to get that bounce for the majority of the day. So hopefully it hangs around."