McGrath steps in to advise Hazlewood

Champion fast bowler Glenn McGrath is concerned Josh Hazlewood’s search for swing throughout the Ashes has cost the young quick his biggest weapon.

Hazlewood enjoyed a strong start to his Test career, collecting 40 wickets in nine matches thanks to surgical accuracy and a 196cm frame that generates awkward, steepling bounce.

The Bendemeer product was the leading wicket-taker for Australia in the Ashes heading into the fourth Test with 13 scalps, but has been unusually wayward at Trent Bridge, taking 2-97 from 24 overs with three uncharacteristic no-balls and a wide in England’s first innings of 9-391dec.

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Hazlewood has consistently swung the Dukes ball throughout the series, but McGrath said the 24-year-old appeared to have changed his approach to harness movement though the air at the expense of the natural extra bounce he creates.

McGrath took the opportunity to speak to Hazlewood on the morning of day two to understand if the right-armer had altered his style from the one that saw him selected to make his Test debut in last summer’s second Test against India in Brisbane.

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“I thought Josh would have bowled really well over here,” McGrath told cricket.com.au at Trent Bridge.

“I was looking forward to it. (I’m) a little bit disappointed for him.

“I noticed a few different things so I went out there to have a chat to see what he’s been working on and let him know what I saw in him and if there’s any way I can help him out.

“It looked like he was trying to swing the ball and I didn’t know if he was working with Craig McDermott, the Australian bowling coach, because when he started his first Test match up in Brisbane he had a straighter run up, came over the top of the ball, bowled it into the deck, got a little bit of seam movement, just a little bit of swing but more bounce.

“Here it just looks like he was coming in with a little wider run up and trying to swing the ball coming from the arm, getting a little bit lower and not powering through the crease the same way and unfortunately not the same bounce.”

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Hazlewood’s tall physique, uncomplicated action, and line-and-length style of bowling has seen him be compared to McGrath from a young age.

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And now McGrath can see Hazlewood going through the same scenario he was confronted with early in his career before sticking to his guns to become the world’s most prolific fast bowler.

“A lot of people have been saying if you want to be successful at Test level you’ve got to be able to swing the ball consistently, bowl an outswinger,” McGrath said.

“I wanted to be successful so I started swinging the ball (and) didn’t have the control.

“I played a game (against) England, 1994-95 series in Brisbane. Finished with 0-120 and didn’t play the next three games.

“I learned my lesson there, went back to the reason I got picked, started hitting the right areas and the rest his history.

“I had to go through that lesson and I just wanted to see if Josh was in a similar place.

“Whether he’d been listening to guys saying certain things, changed his action slightly to get more outswing and got away from what he did well.

“I’d like to see him go back to hitting the deck more. If he can get a little more outswing, great, but make sure you don’t lose that bounce.”

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