Hazlewood omission underlines Aussie depth

Josh Hazlewood is at as least the sixth paceman in line for a spot in Australia's World Cup squad, but Pat Cummins says the right-armer is good enough to come from a long way back and make his return to the national T20 side this year.

Hazlewood's success in the Sydney Sixers' recent KFC BBL triumph was notable for the fact he was playing at all; the tall quick had not played 20-over cricket at any level since the 2016 World Cup and even including his five-game stint with the Sixers, he's managed just eight T20 games in the past six years.

The 29-year-old's long absence from the game's shortest format means he has plenty of work to do to be part of a home World Cup later this year, with Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Kane Richardson, Jhye Richardson and Sean Abbott all picked ahead of him for this Qantas T20 Tour of South Africa.

But Hazlewood's five-game stint for the Sixers, where he picked up five wickets and conceded a club best 6.22 runs per over, was a timely reminder of his qualities ahead of the World Cup.

"One of the hard things is he's obviously a gun ODI and Test player, so he hasn't had much chance to play in the Big Bash or international T20 cricket," Cummins said in Johannesburg ahead of the first T20 against the Proteas early on Saturday morning (AEDT).

"It's hard to know how good he is until he goes back to the Big Bash, and you see him show his class there.

"You never know. The good thing is there's him and a number of bowlers have done well for either Australia or in the Big Bash so the fast-bowling stocks are looking pretty good."

Hazlewood will get a golden chance to build on his BBL form when he makes his Indian Premier League debut this year with Chennai Super Kings.

But with Starc and Cummins entrenched in Australia's best team and the Aussies having picked two spinners – Ashton Agar and Adam Zampa – in the same side in recent games, there's likely just one fast-bowling spot available in the XI for the World Cup.

One of the two Richardsons or Abbott could go a long way to securing that spot in the three upcoming games against the Proteas, with each bowler having taken a different route this summer to this point.

Kane Richardson is the incumbent third quick and played all six matches during Australia's unbeaten run in T20s at the start of the home summer, taking eight wickets at an economy rate of 6.73 in those games against Sri Lanka and Pakistan.

Abbott impressed in the final match of that campaign, his first taste of international cricket in more than five years, and then had another outstanding Big Bash tournament alongside Hazlewood at the Sixers despite playing just seven matches due to a side strain.

And Jhye Richardson is also back in national colours for the first time in almost 11 months, an impressive BBL campaign for Perth Scorchers rewarded after a serious shoulder injury last year had cruelled his World Cup and Ashes dreams.

Cummins said he was particularly pleased to see Jhye Richardson and Abbott back in the squad after their recent lay-offs.

"For Jhye, I'm so happy for him," he said. "This time 12 months ago, he was on the verge of a World Cup and an Ashes series and unfortunately, he had that big injury.

"So he's done the long route to get back in the Aussie side, but he absolutely deserves a spot and it's great to see him back.

"The way (Abbott) has bowled in the last three or four Big Bashes has been phenomenal. He's a really experienced guy.

"It's great to see those guys who've dominated at domestic level make the jump up and have a game plan already sorted."

Australia's Qantas Tour of South Africa 2020

Australia T20 squad: Aaron Finch (c), Sean Abbott, Ashton Agar, Alex Carey, Pat Cummins, Mitch Marsh, Jhye Richardson, Kane Richardson, D'Arcy Short, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Matthew Wade, David Warner, Adam Zampa

Australia ODI squad: Aaron Finch (c), Ashton Agar, Alex Carey (vc), Pat Cummins (vc), Josh Hazlewood, Marnus Labuschagne, Mitch Marsh, Kane Richardson, D'Arcy Short, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Matthew Wade, David Warner, Adam Zampa

First T20: February 21 at Johannesburg. 3am AEDT (Feb 22), Fox Cricket & Kayo

Second T20: February 23 at Port Elizabeth 11.30pm AEDT, Fox Cricket & Kayo

Third T20: February 26 at Cape Town. 3am AEDT (Feb 27), Fox Cricket & Kayo

First ODI: February 29 at Paarl (D/N). 10pm AEDT, Fox Cricket & Kayo

Second ODI: March 4 at Bloemfontein (D/N). 10pm AEDT, Fox Cricket & Kayo

Third ODI: March 7 at Potchefstroom. 7pm AEDT, Fox Cricket & Kayo