Hazlewood ready to rekindle Lord's love affair

Josh Hazlewood's maiden Ashes series didn't quite unfurl as he and others had hoped, but he carries fond and clear memories of his one and only Test appearance at Lord's.

Hazlewood was a comparative novice at Test level – he had just five matches and 24 wickets to his name when the 2015 Ashes contest got underway in Cardiff – but he was expected to deliver an immediate impact.

At 197cm (almost six-feet five-inches in Britain's imperial measurement) and having shown remarkable accuracy in his early Tests, the then 24-year-old was being likened to a new iteration of Australia's most successful pace bowler, Glenn McGrath.

And after a creditable match return of 5-132 in his first Ashes outing at Cardiff (which Australia lost by 169 runs), that comparison only gained credence on the strength of Hazlewood's debut appearance at cricket's historic home.

It was not so much his potency in a game that Australia won convincingly to level the 2015 series, but rather the manner in which he adapted to, and then cannily exploited, the idiosyncrasies at Lord's that captured attention.

Image Id: EDA34542F59E40AE9838323DC9018A5B Image Caption: Hazlewood's first Lord's wicket was Ian Bell in 2015 // Getty

His 5-88 from 30 overs bowled across two innings means he boasts an average of 17.60 at the famous ground which, even allowing for the fact he's played a solitary Test there, suggests it's a venue that suits his bowling.

And if – as coach Justin Langer and captain Tim Paine, have often claimed in the lead-up and opening weeks of this Ashes sojourn – Australia's selectors will opt for bowlers who best suit individual circumstances, then Hazlewood's case for a recall in next week's second Test at Lord's looks compelling.

With that average of 17.60 at the famous ground, his raw numbers stack up favourably against the fellow pace men with whom he's vying for a berth in Australia's starting XI for the match starting in London next Wednesday.

Image Id: C1E8109E807842DB8E66C78EBFBC1C8F Image Caption: Hazlewood claimed Moeen Ali lbw in 2015 // Getty

That group includes incumbent pair Peter Siddle (averaging 56.28 in first-class cricket at Lord's but that drops to 40.14 if you just take his Test performances) and James Pattinson (68.50 from his solitary Test in 2013), while fellow Test-recall aspirant Mitchell Starc boasts an average of 51 from his only Test at Lord's in 2015.

Pat Cummins has yet to play a Test at the ground where Australia enjoys an imposing record of Ashes success.

Image Id: 78CF358C154E4CFB87908B56E54A2DE1 Image Caption: Joe Root was one of Hazlewood's 2015 Lord's victims // Getty

Hazlewood, whose most recent Test was the New Year match against India at the SCG before he was diagnosed with a stress fracture in his back, believes the legendary slope (that runs roughly north-south) and the traditional pitch conditions at Lord's suit his bowling.

"I've just played the one Test there, but I thought I got used to the slope pretty quickly and felt pretty comfortable there," Hazlewood said after claiming 3-34 from 15 overs on day two of Australia's tour match against Worcester.

"The conditions there have been quite bowler friendly the last few Test matches, so I'd love another opportunity.

"I was quite young, and quite inexperienced at that level when I first played a Test match and it probably passed me by pretty quickly.

"But just playing at Lord's in an Ashes Test, it doesn't really get much better so I'm looking forward to it."

As the 2015 Ashes series rolled on, Hazlewood struggled with fitness which, in turn, affected his bowling and he missed the final Test of that campaign at The Oval.

Image Id: 8D9054555B25441F8D8B2DBFA4465BA2 Image Caption: Josh Hazlewood claimed the final wicket to win the 2015 Lord's Ashes Test // Getty

Whether he, four years later, is viewed as one of those bowlers who is uniquely suited to the playing surface and Australia's team strategy at Lord's and subsequent Ashes venues remains in the hands of the national selection panel.

But the pace that he showed, and the rhythm that he found in delivering three spells as Worcestershire were reduced to 8-75 before some late-innings resistance on Thursday, should ensure his name is earnestly discussed at the pre-Test selectors' hook-up next week.

It was only a last-minute call on the morning of the first Test at Edgbaston that saw 34-year-old Siddle get the nod, and he bowled with great economy and control to return match figures of 2-78 from 39 overs in Australia's 251-run victory.

The pitch that Lord's produced for its previous Test this summer, barely a week after it hosted the epic World Cup ODI final, was a seamers' delight with England knocked over for 85 by newcomers Ireland by lunch on day one.

The Irish batters then fared even worse on day three when they were skittled for 38 in 15.4 overs to lose the match.

It's expected that the pitch for the second Ashes Test will be decidedly less lively, and that England's selectors (who name their squad on Friday) will ponder how that surface might allow them to dismiss Australia's in-form batting supremo Steve Smith without the services of their most prolific pace bowler, Jimmy Anderson (absent with a calf injury).

"I think there will be a bit more in it (the Lord's pitch), but maybe that's so they can get Smithy out," Hazlewood said with a conspiratorial smile.

"Him batting on those sorts of tracks, it's obviously very hard work (for bowlers) and I think it suits us as much as them if there is more in the wicket.

"So we'll weigh that up.

"If it's a dry wicket where reverse swing might come into play, or it's a very flat, then someone like Mitch Starc can come into play.

"If it's nice and green and seaming around, then it's myself and Sidds.

"I think they (the selectors) have definitely gone a different way to 2015 and I think that's purely because of how tight the Tests are (scheduled).

"That's why we've got six (quicks) here and any one can do a job on any given day."

It's that compacted Ashes schedule – five Tests and a pair of three-day tour games crammed into less than seven weeks – that convinced the selectors to name six specialist pace bowlers, including uncapped Queenslander Michael Neser.

But in addition to providing sufficient back-up should one or more fall victim to injury or form lapse, Hazlewood also sees the diversity within the specialist seamers as comforting.

The likelihood of Australia having a combination of pace bowlers who can excel in whatever conditions that ground staff at the remaining Test venues – Lord's Headingley, Old Trafford and The Oval – serve up gives the squad great confidence, especially now that they hold a 1-0 series lead.

"We've got three guys with proper air speed (Starc, Pattinson and Cummins), and three guys who seam and swing a little bit (himself, Siddle and Neser)," Hazlewood said.

"I think that's what they (selectors) have got six quicks for, to have all bases covered.

"And I guess it's just who's bowling best at that particular time leading into the Test, and who gets the nod.

"I think every quick really feels the pressure of the other five and vice versa, and it's great competition to have in the squad."

2019 Qantas Ashes Tour of England

Australia squad: Tim Paine (c), Cameron Bancroft, Pat Cummins, Marcus Harris, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Mitchell Marsh, Michael Neser, James Pattinson, Peter Siddle, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Matthew Wade, David Warner.

England squad: Joe Root (c), Moeen Ali, Jimmy Anderson, Jofra Archer, Jonny Bairstow, Stuart Broad, Rory Burns, Jos Buttler, Sam Curran, Joe Denly, Jason Roy, Ben Stokes (vc), Olly Stone, Chris Woakes.

First Test: Australia beat England by 251 runs at Edgbaston

Tour match: Australians v Worcestershire, August 7-9

Second Test: August 14-18,Lord's

Third Test: August 22-26, Headingley

Tour match: Australians v Derbyshire, August 29-31

Fourth Test: September 4-8, Old Trafford

Fifth Test: September 12-16, The Oval