Hazlewood presents selection challenge

Josh Hazlewood hopes he will continue to defy conventional fast bowling wisdom and push through another jam-packed schedule rather than be put on ice throughout the year.

Hazlewood has proven himself to be the iron man of Australia's rich fast bowling reserves having played 17 of 18 Test matches since his debut, while the likes of Mitchell Starc, Peter Siddle, James Pattinson and Pat Cummins have all been cut down by serious injury.

Hazlewood's workload was a constant talking point throughout the 2015-16 season after national selector Rod Marsh predicted the paceman would be rested from at least one Test during the summer.

But the 25-year-old powered on through all six Tests, missing the bulk of Australia's limited overs series against India instead before he returned for the ODI and Test tour of New Zealand and then the ICC World T20 in India.

And as the only fast bowler to have played all four matches so far on this Qantas Tour of the West Indies - although he was only required to bowl three overs in the opening contest - Hazlewood wants to keep playing.

"As a fast bowler, especially the way I bowl, I think I need rhythm all the time and need to be playing cricket continuously to get that rhythm and feel better with my bowling," he said in Barbados on Thursday morning (AEST).

"I think it's different for everyone but that's the way I feel, I need that continuous cricket to be at my best.

"We've obviously got a decent gap between games (six days) so we'll do everything recovery wise. We've got quite a period of rest, so I think I'm going to be fine.

"It'll be up to the selectors and what they want to do in terms of managing me through the next few games. But I'm feeling good at the moment."

Hazlewood heads a four-man pace battery on this tour, along with Mitchell Starc, Nathan Coulter-Nile and Scott Boland, while allrounders James Faulkner and Mitchell Marsh offer pace bowling support.

Starc has been managed carefully in his first series back from foot and ankle surgery and has been rested for two of the four matches, with Coulter-Nile taking his place on both occasions, while Boland is yet to play on tour.

Part of Hazlewood's confidence about pushing through the series stems from the two-month break he had following the World T20 earlier this year.

The stocky quick opted out of Indian Premier League, as he did last year, which allowed him time to recover and then regain his strength ahead of the series in the Caribbean as well as the upcoming tours to Sri Lanka and South Africa.

Hazlewood says while he was disappointed to miss the experience of playing in the IPL, the rewards of taking a break were obvious.

"It's a very strong tournament, playing against the best players," he said. "The experience is probably the main thing (you miss), to get more cricket in India and in those conditions.

"You do miss that but the rest is invaluable at this stage. To get that three weeks to a month to recover and get that strength back up.

"You always want to play for Australia and play as much as you can for Australia.

"(The break) was perfect really.

"I feel really good now, obviously I got the bowling workloads up in the nets leading into series and everything's come together pretty well."

While Hazlewood has enjoyed a better run on the injury front in recent years than most of his teammates, he is no stranger to being on the sidelines himself.

The right-armer - who made his international debut when he played against England in 2010 aged 19 - suffered serious back, foot and shin injuries during the early stages of his career, while his last significant absence was due to a side strain two years ago.

But the New South Welshman is confident the worst is behind him.

"I think you talk to physios, the doctors and things like that, 23 is quite an important age," he said.

"Once you get to there, it's a bit smoother sailing.

"So the body feels like it's hardened up and with more cricket, you just feel a bit better every time you go out there and more confident in your body that you can get through."

Australia’s next match of the series is against South Africa at Kensington Oval on Monday morning (AEST) before they take on the Windies two days later.